You have the power to change yourself.

With that power comes great responsibility - not to change for others in a way that they want to see you change, but to change for yourself, to become more of who you are here to be.

Your imagination is one of the most powerful parts of you.

Everyone now alive on this earth, and for generations before us, has lived during a time of war. We are programmed from the start to imagine war, and to believe that we have no power over its inevitability.

You have had the opportunity to experience what it's like to feel stuck.

When you’re feeling stuck, nothing is working. You are failing, and/or things are falling apart. All of your efforts are in vain. You can’t seem to get out of this rut you’ve somehow landed in. You feel frustration, discomfort, anxiety, stress, invalidation, and worried about what will happen if you stay stuck.

Worst of all, there is no instruction manual or set of instructions on getting unstuck. You just don’t know what to do. How do you make this time of being stuck go away?

The most sought after and precious gifts you can give won’t cost you a dime.

You can’t buy them online or at the mall. What's more, these valuable gifts are available for you to give freely, anytime. You don't need to wait for a special occasion. One size fits all, and no matter who you give these gifts to, they are a good fit. There’s no worries about gift receipts, returns, or guessing whether your gift will be the right one.

And what’s even better – when you give one of these to someone else, you give the same to yourself.

You chose to have a body this lifetime in order to experience, grow, and change.

There is no mistake as to why you showed up now. You arrived on earth at a time of deep lasting spiritual evolution so that you'd have lots of room to grow. Even if you have no idea how you'll do this, don't worry! You already are.

We all change, whether we like it or not. Our bodies constantly change, and we all accept this as being normal. The attitude we have with the inevitable and natural changes within and around us, determines how we experience the growth we are having.

You may recognize this famous photo, taken during an antiwar demonstration in 1967.

The 1960′s ushered in a revolution in ways of thinking and living, life. A tumultuous time, it was marked by both an end to innocence*, as well as a longing for more of the same. The old was explosively giving way to the new, as people all around the earth were born into a new era.

*Innocence Is defined in this example as ‘not knowing’ or ‘unaware’.

You are made of energy. Every part of you is energy: body, mind, and spirit.

Your emotions, creativity, abilities, intellect, interests, and all the rest, are energy. There’s energy in everything you do, say, feel, and decide to have. You have a personal style that comes from your unique energy. This is your spirit playing and creating, and it’s one of a kind.

The way you communicate with the world around you has energy. Your creative expression, your personal taste, your relationships with others, your health, finances, you name it – all have energy. Every time you change your energy, you change your life. Change any of your energy, and your life changes too.

Can you imagine a day when human beings can learn to live together without needing to judge, divide, or exploit each other?

Perhaps on that day, we won’t need to compartmentalize each other. When we choose to work with spirit, value judgments won’t be made based on how much wealth a person has been able to amass, or on the color of his skin, the language she speaks, the way each chooses to dress.

We won’t make it our business to worry about the relationships people choose to have, and whether their choices pass judgment.

It’s important to understand that if you want to be seen in the spotlight, it isn’t the spotlight itself that makes you look good.

It’s not because of the spotlight that you shine. Your light comes from within you. Making your dreams real begins within you. The more comfortable you are with who you are, the easier it will be for you to stand out, and to step into the light.

The better you know and love yourself, the more you allow yourself the permission and space to simply be who you are, the simpler it will be for you to fearlessly step forward and be seen.

A student of mine asked me some specific questions about change and how to handle it, and inspired me to write this.

Here’s my take on change and growth, and how to navigate what sometimes feels like a bumpy ride.

It all begins with you: You want to change, and you decide to make positive changes in your life. Perhaps you’ve done this before, maybe many times. Some of the changes you’ve gone through in your life came about as a result of you choosing to change, and some of them might have seemed as if they just ‘happened’ to you. Either way, change is upon you.

As soon as you showed up, the world you live in became a different place.

Being very small at the time, you weren’t aware of what an enormous impact you were already having. You were too busy figuring out how to have a body.

Though you looked pretty harmless, you were already destroying everything in your path. In fact, your very first act upon arrival was to destroy what had been in existence before you got here.

It’s easy to lose perspective and space when going through times of great change.

Things seems to be moving faster every day, as if the planet itself is spinning more rapidly. Life on earth feels more intense these days, with brilliant miracles as well as big challenges showing up daily.

Because of all this intensity, we can get caught up in whatever is right in front of us more easily. This includes the latest news, someone else’s anger or problems or fears, politics, worries about jobs, money, relationships, and other issues that can take over.