Today we ask that you look at the ways in which you are self-destructive.

Everyone has self-destructive habits.  The question is: do you view these habits with complacency?  Do you say, everyone does these things, so I will, too?  Or do you wish to truly help yourself?

Much self-destructive behavior has to do with what you take into your body and mind.  Do you eat and drink toxic or unhealthy foods?  You know if they are because they make you feel bad, even if they initially give you a rush, or buzz.  

Do you watch things on TV or on the computer, or play video games that dull or lower your sense of well-being?  You know if you feel tired, irritable, anxious or angry after watching them.

Do you regularly spend time with people who continually think and speak negatively?  You know if they are, because you’ll feel drained, irritable, and anxious after spending time with them.

All of this is self-destructive.

We do not say, be a Puritan who lives in some sort of unreal paradise.

All we say is, if you find yourself frequently engaging in activities that you know will only make you feel bad — ask yourself why.

Perhaps you are addicted to these low-vibrational forms.  The unhealthy food, the unhealthy behavior, the unhealthy companionship.

That is the one thing low-vibrational energy has going for it: it is habit-forming, and addictive.

So all forms of self-destructive activity are similar to drug or alcohol addiction.  People are addicted to bad food, bad TV, bad companionship.

By “bad,” we do not mean worthless.  Everything is relative.  “Bad,” in this sense, is something that lowers your state of well-being, and leaves you feeling worse than before you were exposed to it.

As with all addiction, the first step to liberation is acknowledging that you’re addicted.

So just begin to observe the ways in which you are self-destructive.  The ways in which you indulge in things that may temporarily give you a rush, or high, but always make you feel worse after the rush fades.  Pay attention.

You may be quite surprised at how pervasive self-destructive behavior really is.

Today we ask that you understand that you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

Right now, in this moment, you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

There is nowhere else you are supposed to be.

There is no other life you are supposed to be having.

You are not supposed to be a more secure, put-together, richer, smarter, more attractive version of you.

You are not supposed to be the you who didn’t experience the trauma, the pain, the sickness, the abuse, the dysfunction.  You are not supposed to be that person.

You are supposed to be you.

You are not supposed to have another career, or another marriage.  You are not supposed to live somewhere else.

You are supposed to live here, and do this.

If you are alone, you are supposed to be alone now.

If you are with someone, you are supposed to be with that person now.

If you do not have children, it is supposed to be that way.

If you have children, these are the children you are supposed to have.

You are supposed to have your body.  It is supposed to be however old it is.  

You are supposed to have as much, or as little, as you currently have in your bank account.

None of this is an accident.  None of this is random.

It is all exquisitely, specifically designed for you.  You, and only you.

It really is supposed to be this way.  And the universe is not cruel.

If reality is not cruel, and it is supposed to be this way, then imagine what this means.

Just imagine.  If you can imagine, even for a moment, what this means — then you are free.  Just for a moment, you will feel the deep well-being that is your true state.

Today we ask that you learn to calm your mind.

There is no more valuable skill you can possess.  

Calm your mind.  Calm your mind.

Your mind is like a wild horse, running away with you.  It runs here, it runs there.  It overturns the cart.  It runs in circles, churning the earth, its muzzle foaming.  It runs and runs and runs and never gets anywhere.

This is what most human minds are like.

The more you read, the more you watch, the more you text and email, the faster and crazier the mind becomes.

Calm your mind.  Calm your mind.

No wonder your mind cannot easily fall asleep at night.  No wonder you go crazy with anxiety.

You must calm your mind.

Step away from the computer.  Step away from the TV.  Step away from the phone.

Go outside.  Go for a walk.  Go sit in a park.

Take a nap.  Soak in a bathtub.

Play with animals.  Play with children.

Get back in your bodies.  Calm your minds.

Learn to meditate.  It is not a difficult or mysterious practice.  Just set a timer for ten or fifteen or twenty minutes, sit down, and count your breath.  Notice when thoughts arise, and return to the counting.  Be present in your body.

Meditate in the morning, meditate in the afternoon.  Even five minutes will help you.

Calm your mind.  Please, calm your mind.

Let it be a strong, sedate horse that will carry you long distances.  Let it draw your carts and plough your fields.  Your mind can be your great ally.  But you must learn to calm it.

There is nothing more valuable in life than learning to calm your mind.

Today we ask that you understand that you each possess physical and psychic “shields.”

You have a physical immune system, which keeps your body healthy.  And you have a psychic immune system, which keeps your mind (and body) healthy.

These are your “shields.”  They are very much like the shields you see in Star Trek — the shields that protect spaceships from attack.

In Star Trek, a spaceship’s shield is able to absorb a certain amount of hits, or attack energy, before collapsing and leaving the spaceship exposed.

It is the same with your psychic and physical shields.  

Your shields can absorb incredibly high levels of toxic energy if they are in good working order.  

However, when a shield absorbs a “hit,” it needs time to recharge.  If it keeps absorbing hits, without recharging, it will eventually collapse — and when it collapses, you become either physically or psychically, which is to say mentally, ill.

Physical exhaustion runs down the physical immune system.  Lack of rest, burning the candle at both ends, poor diet, lack of exercise, and exposure to toxins — all these things are “hits” that eat away at your shields.

Conversely, plenty of rest, a good diet, exercise, and time spent in pleasant outdoor environments build up the physical shield, or immune system — allowing you to absorb “hits,” if necessary, without getting sick.

It is the same with the psychic immune system.  Exhausting the mind and nervous system by continually overstimulating it, watching too much TV, spending too much time online, overworking the brain, keeping the brain going beyond the exhaustion point by using caffeine or stimulants, or socializing with toxic, negative, destructive individuals — these are “hits” that wear down the psychic shields, and expose you to the mental illnesses of depression, anxiety, and rage.  They can also in the long term lead to brain pathologies, like Alzheimer’s. 

Meditation builds up the psychic shields.  Meditating, and immersing the mind in positive, healing, high-vibratory energies.  It is good to spend time around people who feel like a good vibratory match for you — you recognize them, because you feel good in their presence.  Music is good for the psychic shields.  Art is good for the psychic shields.  Certain films and television can be good for the psychic shields, when absorbed in moderation.  You know because you feel charged by watching them, not drained.  

Your psychic immune system is very real.  It keeps you sane, and mentally healthy, just as the physical immune system keeps you physically healthy.

So: keep your shields up, and in good working order.  Good shields are greatly needed, in your world.

Today we ask you to understand that all humans are intrinsically worthy.

Every human is unique.  Every human has a totally distinct energy signature.

Some humans are more conscious and awake than others.

But the awake ones are not worth more than the sleeping ones.  Every human has the capacity to wake up.

The enlightened are not worth more than the unenlightened.

The rich are not worth more than the poor.

The successful are not worth more than the people who appear to accomplish little.

The beautiful are not worth more than the ugly.

The thin are not worth more than the fat.

The intelligent are not worth more than the ignorant.

The famous are not worth more than the unknown.

The young are not worth more than the old.

The virtuous are not worth more than the immoral.

The pious are not worth more than the profane.

The genteel are not worth more than the vulgar.

The spiritual are not worth more than the secular.

The left is not worth more than the right, and the right is not worth more than the left.

The white is not worth more than the person of color.

The man is not worth more than the woman, and the woman is not worth more than the man.

The adult is not worth more than the child.

The healthy is not worth more than the sick.

The strong is not worth more than the weak.

The happy is not worth more than the sad.

This is the way of it.

You are not worth more than anyone else.

And no one else is worth more than you.

Every human is unique.

Some humans are more conscious than others.

But no human is worth more than another.

Today we ask that you have mercy on people.

Often, one feels like one is at the mercy of other people.  Bosses, authority figures, parents, spouses, exes, politicians, the IRS, the government, big corporations, and so on.

In truth, it is the other way around.  They are at your mercy.

It is difficult to explain this, and yet it is true.  Whomever you feel oppressed by — know now, they are at your mercy.

So it was, for example, in the antebellum South in America.  The white Southerners were terrified of the slaves.  Their lives and livelihoods were, in a very real sense, at the mercy of the slaves.

This is always true.  All oppressors are at the mercy of the ones they oppress.

And so, we ask you now: have mercy on them.  Have compassion for them.  They are deeply unconscious — far more so than you are, reading this now.  They do not know what they do.  Have mercy on them.

Truly, all the people in your life whom you feel oppressed by — they are at your mercy.  This is always true.  So have mercy on them, for you are more awake than they.

Today we ask that you understand that the way reality works is, generally speaking, counterintuitive to everything you have been taught.

What does this mean?

For example, for most people, “work” means keeping one’s nose to the grindstone, diligently plugging away at tasks that you do not particularly enjoy.  You do this in exchange for money, status, prestige, and other forms of security and ego gratification.

The majority of “work” undertaken with this kind of consciousness is, in fact, not a good use of time and energy.

You are not robots.  You are not automatons.  You are not machines.  You are not computers.

It is one thing for a computer to grind away at a problem, or for a machine to mindlessly plug away at a boring task.  That is the proper use of computers and machines.

But you are human beings.  And it is a terrible waste to use human beings like computers and machines.

This is because humans have, at their disposal, a vast source of awareness and consciousness.

Some people call this “the Universe.”  Others call it “God.”  Some think of it as divine awareness.  Or talking to angels.  Or communicating with higher dimensional beings, which we would say is an accurate description.  Some call it communicating with the Higher Self, which is also accurate.

It does not matter what you call it.  The point is, every living human has the capacity to do this.

This realm is accessed through relaxed, meditative consciousness — which is totally antithetical to “putting one’s nose to the grindstone.”

Indeed, stress, pressure, anxiety, force and general grindstoniness are active blocks to accessing this realm.

In this realm, you utilize your full potential as a human being.  Whatever your work is, it is meant to be a joy to you, and a stimulating growth experience.  Tasks can be completed far more quickly and efficiently in this realm.

Creativity — which is what sets you apart from computers and machines — is accessed in this realm.  That is where it flows from.

It does not matter what you call it.  The collective unconscious, aliens, ancestor spirits, gods, fairies, prophets — it does not matter.

It is the well from which all life and vitality springs.

You cannot get there by pushing, forcing, controlling, or conquering.

You can only get there by letting go.

That is why it is counterintuitive.

Yet is the truest thing in your reality.

Today we ask that you feel what it is to trust reality.

Trusting reality means that it is not your job to fix, correct, or judge reality.

Trusting reality means that it is not your job to figure out how reality works.

Trusting reality means that it is not your job to improve reality.

Reality cannot be improved, fixed, or corrected.

Given your limited perceptual capacity, you are in no position to judge reality.

Reality is not broken.  Reality is not defective.

Humans are not here to fix reality.

Reality does not need to be healed, or made whole.

Reality is whole.  It cannot be broken, or split into pieces.  It is intrinsically whole.

Any belief system which teaches the concept of a “broken reality” is false.

If reality were, in fact, broken or defective, then we would not advise you to trust it.

You can trust reality because reality is whole.

Your reality is not a mistake.  Your universe is not a mistake.

Your reality is far more fluid and impermanent than most of you perceive it to be — but it is not a mistake.

Reality is exactly as it should be.  It is supposed to be this way.

It follows, therefore, that you are exactly as you should be.  You are supposed to be this way.

Since reality is whole, all the qualities that it possesses, you, too, possess.

You are not broken.  You are not defective.  You do not need to be fixed, or corrected.

Reality does not judge you.

Whatever it is you imagine “God” to be — please know that God does not judge you.  That is not possible.

The qualities some people ascribe to “God” — that God is a judging or punitive deity; that God would cast His creations out of paradise, into a broken realm — please know that this is all false.  All untrue.

That is not “God.”  That was never “God.”

That deity is a reflection of human consciousness.  Not even of contemporary human consciousness, but of an ancient, tribal, warlike, and frankly animalistic consciousness.

“God” is not that.

Reality is whole.  It is loving.  It is completely loving.  And it can be trusted.