Happy New Year. May it be your best ever. I started out 2012 with a series of articles called "Coming Out Head First in 2012". More about those articles below.

First, I want to bring you up to speed with some exciting new developments. I am now offering the ability to subscribe to my weekly content in a way that suits you. I generally write four separate articles per week on a theme. You can opt to receive them by email as four articles over four days, or you can subscribe to receive one longer article once a week.  You can also opt to receive the content by text, audio, video or all three.

I'm offering this content for free but encourage you to make a tax deductible donation (either one time or recurring) to support my work. There are costs associated with the administration of this subscription system, and your donations will help to cover some of these costs. Please visit the Resources page to subscribe to my content in a way that suits your needs. I will continue to post a summary of my weekly articles on this blog.

As for Coming Out Head First, the New Year is a great time to get your head straight about your intentions, claim the power of your mind, recommit to possibility thinking and transform your memories. Please follow any link below that interests you.

1. Diving Into 2012- click here to read more.
2. Claim the power of your mind- click here to read more.
3. Recommit to possibility thinking- click here to read more.
4. Transform your memories- click here to read more.


May your mind transcend limitations.


May your consciousness expand in every direction.


May you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be. Patanjali

Thriving in the Holidays

This is my last post for 2011. Thanks to all who have stayed in touch with my blog. I trust that you received what you needed from it. After a short break over the Holidays I will write again. My first opportunity in 2012 is a teleclass on change that I am leading in conjunction with Brian Johnson's En Theos Academy for Optimal Living. All are welcome to join the class, which is using some cutting edge technology to create a truly interactive experience. Read more about the course here.

Most likely your attention is now focused on the Holidays, time with family and your own journey through Christmas. My writing this week has focused on these things. Take what is meaningful from the following-

1. An inclusive spiritual perspective on Christmas, read more here.

2. Four Agreements to help prepare for an awesome Holiday season. Read more here

3. Inspired by the Christmas story. But which story? Four Christmases, read more here. 

Above you are the stars. Beneath you is the earth. Within you is the light of life. Like the stars may your vision be clear. Like the earth, may your life be grounded. Like the light within, may your spirit shine.

Much love and gratitude, Ian.

Inner Clarity, Outer Vision

Helen Keller said, "The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision."

Last week I wrote about doubt. This week I wrote about clarity of vision. There are six articles. Feel free to explore any or all of them at your leisure.

1. Vision grows out of what you see inside yourself (click here for part one in the series).

2. Vision involves squinting at your own sacred essence ( click here for part two in the series).

3. Vision stretches you to see what lies ahead (click here for part three in the series).

4. Di-vision gets in the way of da-vision. Beware of double vision (hypocricy) and focus on authenticity more than size (click here for part four in the series)

5. Vision boarding is a practical way to clarify your vision (click here to read about vision boarding),

6. This visualization on your life five years back and five years forward will help give you perspective on your growth.

Remember that, in the words of Dan Zadra, "Your resources are always far greater than you imagine them to be." Wake up to all that you can be. Shine some light on a vision that may have been buried under a pile of fears for too long. Set out on a path that may feel hard, but you know it’s right. It’s time to emerge from your own dark age and shine your light.

Gratitude and Doubt

This week began with Thanksgiving and ended in Great Doubt. Its been said that successful people have doubts. They just don’t let doubt stop them. So my message this week is to doubt, and doubt boldly but don't let it paralyze you. Let your awareness grow beyond a shadow of doubt and take you from strength to strength. I wrote four pieces. Please peruse at your leisure.


1. Gratitude in ALL Circumstances, both the ups and downs, the doubts and clarity. This article is about gratitude and growth, through ALL that was, all this is, and all that is to come. Read more.
2. Doubt is often seen as a weakness. Reframe doubt as powerful and beneficial. Give yourself the benefit of doubt. This article describes the benefit of doubt both personally and socially. Read more.
3. In the third article, I spoke personally about working through Great Doubt at a Zen retreat in 2005, and outlines the five stages of enlightenment from Tozan. Read more.
4. The fourth article is on a different topic, the ongoing question of how to change well. This piece is about eliminating things that aren’t serving you and adding more of the things that make you feel alive and inspired. Read more.

Namaste!

Nelson Mandela said, "There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children."

This week I wrote about protecting children, in the light of revelations about the Penn State abuse scandal. There are five pieces to explore-

1. Honoring the innocence of children while teaching them about boundaries. Help kids to develop wise trust. Read more.

2. Protect children before protecting institutions like the church or college football programs. Read more.

3. Become a whistleblower for kids in danger. Learn to see the signs of danger, and empower kids to trust their intuition. Read more.

4. Learn to forgive yourself when you fail to see the signs or act on warning signs. Read more.

5. We need to believe that good people do bad things so that we are not blindsided by abuse. Read more.

In the end, it all comes down to what sort of world you choose to dwell in. I imagine a world where children are fiercely protected and people are mindful of the effect of their actions.


I love the ritual among the Masai tribes of African. Even though they were considered the most fearsome of all warriors, they use a greeting that is amazingly gentle. They greet each other with the words, “Kasserian ingera?’ which means “How are the children?” Even warriors with no children of their own would give the answer, ‘All the children are well.”

If the children are well, it is well with all. If the least visible and least powerful are well cared for, society as a whole is in a healthy state. Start by caring for the vulnerable child within who needs to be empowered with courage to heal from past choices and move on making powerful choices. Ask yourself often, “How is the child within?” May your answer be, “The child within is well.”

Occupy Wall Street

This week I wrote about transformation, particularly in relation to the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement that is gaining momentum. Please follow the links below to read each article.

1. Reform changes things at the surface. Transformation changes from the inside out. Click here to read more 

2. Getting beyond labels that divide. Spend less time defining who we are, and more time BEING who we are. Click here to read more 

3. Visualizing Transformation, a visualization for anyone managing change, using the analogy of a butterfly. Click here to read more. 

Acceptance

I chose to give my creative mind a rest this week and only wrote once. The piece I wrote was on acceptance and living with no strings attached. The harp created my guiding metaphor, which led to a visualization which I found meaningful. I hope you do too. You can read the article and visualization here.

Throw yourself into every moment with no strings attached, with no assurance that your efforts will be rewarded. Plan your next steps with no certainty of the outcomes. Pour yourself into a cause or project you believe in without knowing where it will take you. Do it as an authentic expression of who you are.