I was recently asked a good question by my friend and colleague, Rob McMahon.  He asked, “With all that you’re working on, how much of it is you having to do it versus Spirit?”

I answered that it feels like it’s me pulling to make things happen about 75% of the time, with 25% being handled by Spirit.  But then I realized, wow – that’s a lot on my shoulders.

How would YOU answer that question?  

With what you’re working on, what percentage of it is YOU versus Spirit?  

Last week I was facilitating a day-long private ceremony for a client that flew in from Florida. I continued to sit with the thought, “What if I was doing only 1% and let Spirit do 99%?  What would that look like?  How would I move in the world if that was the case?”

While I pondered this thought, I suddenly had the urge to get up and do Tai Chi.  It had been months since I had done it last, and yet as I slowed myself down and became “empty” – down to 1% that I was doing – it was some of the best tai chi I had ever witnessed myself doing.  I could literally feel Spirit and my breath doing 99% of the work to complete the movements.  It was absolutely beautiful.

Man, if I could just move that way all the time.  Here I am several days later struggling to remember how that felt as I deal with the challenges of my two babies, work, emails, and the new projects I’m launching.

But it begs the question, “What is the energy that we’re creating with?”

Is it the energy from your last coffee?

Or energy from “The Universe”?

Of course, in any true creation – whether it’s a song, book, or business – it’s about opening up to let the creative energy of the universe flow through you.

Yet, how does the energy of the universe move?

In my experience, very slowly.

Look at the way a flower or tree grows.  It happens, but slowly.

There’s a beautiful hike in the canyon of Laguna Beach that I love going on with Eden.  We often veer off the main trail through waist-height brush to visit our favorite place:  a huge tree that has literally grown right through the cracks of a giant boulder.  It’s an amazing site to see.  Here’s this tree that has literally cracked through the center of a boulder of solid rock, with only the slow energy of Mother Earth as her power.  But what power it is!

Imagine if we could harness this same energy!

Later on in the ceremony with my client, I asked spirit to bring forth the guides that would most serve me over the next several months.  I’ve received many power animals as guides over the years.  This was the first time I was given a Turtle.

A turtle?

Yes, I was shown that I need to take one little, slow, step at a time.  In the days since, this power animal has actually pissed me off.

I don’t want to crawl like a turtle. I want to soar like an eagle, or gallop like a horse, or run like a deer.  I like to go fast.  I like to drink coffee. I want to get up and go – quickly. So what do I do when Spirit gives me a turtle as a power animal?

Do I rebel?

Do I say, thank you very much, but I’d like something else?

The thing with Spirit animals is they are here to teach us something we don’t already have, or don’t already know.  They are here to help us evolve an aspect of ourselves that, frankly, needs some work.   I know there is something to this “turtle” thing.  I know it will help me slow down and take each step more carefully, if I allow it to.  In this allowing, I would be able to let Spirit finally do the “heavy lifting” because I’m not running 10 steps ahead trying to do it all myself.

If we are going to allow Spirit to work magic in our lives and do most of the work, then we have to slow down, tune in, and be one with spirit.  Otherwise, there will be too much “static on the line”.  Spirit may be giving you signs, but you could miss them with all of your mental chatter and belief you can do it all yourself.  If you’re hearing a voice in your head (or heart!) tell you, “take a left” and you keep going straight because you’re moving too fast, then you’ll likely miss an opportunity that could have shortcut the path to what you were wanting.  That outcome, based on your own doing, may not be the highest one that is aligned with Spirit.  You’ll get somewhere, but it may not be the most elevated option.

If you’re not going to put your faith in Spirit, then you better drink lots of coffee and read some Tony Robbins because you’re going to need a whole lot of personal force to make your outcomes happen.  That is one way to get it done.  We’re talking about another way here.  One with minimal personal effort.

Here’s the formula:  

Slow yourself down. 

Clearly set your intentions.

Ask Spirit to do the heavy lifting.  

 

Know the action required to co-create with Spirit.  

 

Allow that to unfold for you in this moment. 

There’s a scene from the HBO show, Bored to Death, where the character played by Ted Danson is informed that he has cancer.  It hits him hard.  He says, “I don’t want to die.  I haven’t figured anything out yet.”

I’ve been on a wonderful journey my whole life of seeking to figure things out.  It’s why I read Think and Grow Rich when I was 15, studied meditation and Eastern thought in my early 20’s, became a life coach at 30, and a shaman at 36.  It’s led me to the heights of many mountain tops in North and South America, with stacks of journals along the way.  Yet, most of the time, this principle is still something I sit with on a daily basis: “Trying to figure things out.”

It’s a powerful moment in one’s life when they move beyond the need to figure things out.  What came through in a meditation recently is this:

“Stop thinking that you need to “figure out” the way.  That is exhausting.  Instead, just seek to keep yourself in balance, seek to be in your heart at all times, and simply open to the moment.  What you need to do will be right there.”

I don’t know why about every week and a half, I seem to have an existential crisis.  I once again become invariably concerned with, “What I am doing?” and “How am I going to get there?”

Why do these two questions seem to run my life?

It gives me a headache.

I know I should just relax and surrender, seek to be in balance mentally and emotionally and then see what the universe brings me.  Yet, every 10 days or so, I forget this and go back to a place of “needing to figure it all out”.

Why do I do this?

After our trip to Greece a few years ago, I had a realization:  That if my life wasn’t about winning, what would it open me up to?

There is a freedom when you get off the hamster wheel.  Just breathing a calm, centered, purposeful moment right now is glorious.

But like many people out there, I’ve spent my life trying to win at everything.  In school, with sports, in the different jobs that I’ve held.  Also, as a coach and speaker, wanting to win and be successful.  Of course, there’s nothing wrong with achieving.  We often fulfill our purpose by being in action in service to others.  Yet, when you’re always focused on the “next” step, which is what a life spent dedicated to winning often becomes, you can miss something.  

I used to say that the most important thing in the world is, “What you do NEXT.”  That’s not necessarily true for me anymore.  It’s not what you do next, but rather what’s underneath your next movement.  It’s what is behind the thought impulse that drives your action.  What’s actuallymost important is your starting point.  Is it a starting point of stillness?  Of the heart?  Of a grounded consciousness?

Or is it some bit of chaos?

Because your next movement, whatever it is, will be informed by what just preceded it.  Hence the importance of slowing down and connecting to the heart center, as many times as it takes throughout the day.

Give up the need to figure things out. 

Step off that hamster wheel.

Breathe in the present moment. 

Open to the Truth that is there. 

“How on Earth am I going to be able to manage all of this?”

That was my thought as I’ve been trying to sort out running my business from home while also having a newborn baby and 20-month old toddler running around.

My wife gave birth to our son two weeks ago.  It’s been such an intense time on every level:  literal, mental, emotional, and energetic.  I had to smile when I received a few emails wondering why I haven’t sent out a newsletter in a while.  Life has become very full. But now, I hope people understand.

The birth of my son, Sorya Sage, has brought with it many lessons and opportunities for growth.  In addition to fully supporting my clients and helping my wife to care for our two children under the age of 2, I’m also launching a new business endeavor providing energetic support and workshops for conscious organizations and companies.  (See www.elevatedcompany.com if you’d like to check it out.)  So how on earth am I going to be able to manage all of this?

“By expanding and elevating my energy in every area.”

That was the answer that immediately occurred to me.

To paraphrase Incubus, it’s now about “going beyond the heights of what I think I know.”

We’ve all heard that managing energy, not time, is our most valuable asset.  So how do I do this when both my time and energy is at a premium?  How can I produce results with the least amount of effort possible?

The exploration of that last question is the reason that I’ve been practicing Tai Chi Chuan for the last few years.  It’s been an enlightening experience to take the concepts of Emptiness, Void, and working with universal energy instead of my own and bring them into the physical.  It’s one thing for me to nod my head about working with flow of the universe and not against it.  It’s another thing toactually move that way.

What’s the least amount of effort required to take flight?

I’ve learned that in nature, animals don’t “think their way” into a situation.  They don’t strategize or “figure out the how” of getting off the ground.  They just do it.  They naturally take the path of least resistance, using their God-given talents and strengths to their benefit.

Here’s an awesome video I recently found of birds taking flight in slow motion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4uS7NL4tu8

While it may seem like these birds are flapping pretty hard, if you look closely, they jump and then at just the right moment, they bring their wings up to create the

maximum amount of lift.  Then they bring their wings down with full force as they lift their bodies up in a beautifully timed burst of synchronistic motion.

It’s not that flight doesn’t require some effort.  It certainly does.  But what is the least amount of effort required to get off the ground?

For us, when we need to flap and extend some effort, how can we time it just right?

We do it by listening first, giving us the intuitive knowing of the exact moment to strike (or flap) with minimum effort but maximum force.

Having a Different Measuring Stick

There are many ways for us to measure our success.  It’s easy to measure it in terms of money or results.  We can also measure it in Happiness.  Lately, it’s occurred to me that it’s pretty easy for me to sacrifice my personal happiness for the sake of my path.  But this doesn’t serve me.  After all, what is all of the success in the world worth without Joy?  So I’ve decided to ask myself a certain question each morning upon waking:  What would it take for my resonant being to be one of Joy? What would it take for me to be happy today?  And making sure I ask this question before I ask, “What do I need to do today?”.

I feel that letting Joy lead the way is one of the ways to get the timing right and work with the flow of the universe.

It’s certainly not by just “trying harder” to push the boulder up the hill.

My wish for you is that you find the right timing with all that you’re up to, that you’re able to sense when to flap, when to jump, and when to sit still.

May your flapping, or the energy that you exude, come back to you tenfold.

Blessings.

John Germain Leto

By the way, if you’d like to see a photo of my new little wise man, he’s right here:

During the second night of ceremony in the Amazon jungle on our recent trip, I had a moment outside to myself.  The jungle was glowing with the full moon light that was basking down.  As I sat there listening to the sounds and taking in the sights, I had a moment where I was able to speak with the trees.

Speak with the trees?  John, are you out of your mind?  How do you know it wasn’t just your imagination?  

Well, I don’t.  However, it’s often said that Spirit speaks to us through our imaginations.  So just roll with it, and with me, as I share how the conversation went down:

The Trees:  “Wow, you guys are a noisy bunch.”  

Me:  ”You’re right.”  (I was outside our hut where ceremony going on and there were lots of people from our group crying, screaming, and whaling as they were processing heavy emotions so that they could heal.)

The Trees:  “You know, if you guys would just grow the way that you’re meant to, then none of that crap would be necessary.”  (Referring to the healing, crying and whaling that was going on inside the hut)

I then looked around and saw how the trees had grown in just the way that nature intended.  It was a beautiful array of trees, bushes, flowers, and grass all merging with each other in the unique way that is the Amazon Rainforest.  The trees weren’t insisting that they grow a certain way.  They don’t say, ”I know what’s best and I want to grow in this specific direction”.  They allow the energy of the universe to move through them and guide their growth.  As a result, they’re happy.

It then occurred to me that I simply need to grow the way that I am meant to.  I shouldn’t hold on to a fixed way that I think I’m meant to be or how I think my work should unfold.  Instead, I should listen to the energy of the universe that is pushing me to do something or be something.

How happy are you? 

If you’re not happy with what you’re doing, then that is the barometer that measures that you’re probably not growing the way that nature intended.  But how do you grow in the way nature intends?  You tune into your instincts.  That’s how you know:  By the way that you feel.  

They trees are happy because they don’t insist they grow one way when mother nature is pushing them another way.  They don’t have “issues”.  They are born, they grow, then at some point, they die.  Along the way, they get nourished, they feed others, they provide homes for birds, insects, and other animals.  They source from both the earth and sun.  And they are happy.

So be happy, like the trees.  Grow the way nature is intending for you.  Let go of what you think you need, but you really don’t.  Move in the direction of your highest path and purpose.

It’s my intent to grow that way that nature is intending for me.  I want to tune in and listen to what the universe is bringing me, so that I can see how to meet the Universe halfway in what is meant to be created with my work and life.

Yet, I still have the question - How do I be happy more of the time?  How can I experience joy more often, especially when the stress of life gets to me?  Because I have my moments too.  When there are bills to pay, and I’m tired after a long day, and I just want to check out but I can’t because I have to do something for the children, even though I just want a beer but Spirit is telling me not to.  How do I be more happy especially in those moments?

Here’s the answer I was given in the jungle:  CONNECT your love with your joy.

Ok, so how do I do THAT?

I was shown, “You already have.  Your daughter – her middle name is Love, her last name is Leto, which means to “Come in Joy”.  So another way of saying her name is Aquiline LoveJoy.  THAT is what it looks like when you connect your love to your joy, the way that she is.”  It brought tears to my eyes to realize this.  That the same LoveJoy that exists in her also exists in me.  That I can be that same connected LoveJoy in every fiber of my being.  I feel it now, in my heart, my hands, even in my toenails.  I was shown that I simply need to be that, everyday.

Frankly, it’s been hard to do since coming back.  I returned from Peru with an empty mind, purified soul, and full heart.  There were so many lessons, so much growth, so much healing and beauty, so much advancement and transformation.

Then I got home and the stress of the world started to set in.

So what do we do when we’re challenged and squeezed?  

It’s one thing to feel enlightened and at peace when we’re on the top of the mountain.

Yet, how do we approach our lives with the same sense of consciousness when the everyday world comes crashing in?

Let me tell you what I do:

I find stillness, somewhere.  In the swirl of life, there’s a steady spot somewhere.  It’s important to find it and reside there (even if it’s in the bathroom stall at your office.)

For me, when I get stressed, I become ungrounded and disconnected.  Yet, by returning to stillness I’m able to get reconnected again.  Now, what are we “getting reconnected” to?

Well, that’s for you to answer for yourself.  For me, it’s a strong internal connection to my heart center.  The place where I’d like to reside, all the time if I can.  I may have gotten caught up in the swirl lately, but I’ve moved through that now to be back in my heart.

And that’s one of the other core lessons for me:  to simply return to the heart space, over and over again, as many times as it takes throughout the day.

May you find the strength and peace that resides in your heart so that you can be on the path of your highest joy.

Last week, Eden and I announced that we are having our second child.

 

While we’re ecstatic, it wasn’t exactly planned.  I was still in the middle of coming to terms with my own loss of self and independence from caring for our first little one, who turned one-year old this month.  What it means in the literal sense is that I’m cooking and cleaning more, as well as caring more for our daughter, as Eden turns her attention to the new life that is growing inside her.  All the while, I’m trying to keep one eye on what I’m doing with my business, attempting to be of greatest service to my clients and the groups that I serve.

 

It’s harder than I ever imagined.  I really did think it would be different for us.  I said, “Not me and Eden. We have the ability to communicate on a different level, not only with ourselves, but also with the new children that are coming to us.  We’ll be able to manage this with more grace than most.”  And maybe we are.  Who knows?

 

I used to write about the personal matters of business-type challenges.  I suppose this is a very personal matter, one that I’m actually hesitant to share.

 

Yet, the point of mentioning this is that we each have personal challenges to manage in addition to work that we’re meant to bring forth to the world.  Perhaps they are related to each other.  Lately, I’ve been reminded of the Cosmic Dancer.

 

That I have the ability to manage all that life is presenting me, with grace and ease, even though I may have to balance it all standing on one leg.  My motto lately has been, “Release the Struggle”.  I seem to be saying it to myself several times a day as I have a tendency to tighten when I’m being confronted with unexpected challenges.  Yet, I know that softness is the way.  I’m reminded of certain power animals that have made themselves known to me like the Whale and the Peace Dove.  At certain times, other power animals and tendencies are called for like that of the Jaguar.  But not right now.

 

If there’s a way through, to complete all of the required tasks, whether it’s breakfast for my little one, or fulfilling my own soul’s purpose, then softness and gentleness is the way for me right now.

 

May you find whatever is required for your journey at this time, whether it be the strength of a jaguar or the softness of a peace dove.  (Or something completely different because that’s what’s appropriate for you.)  However, if you don’t know what your power animal is that is meant to assist you, that’s something that I help people discover in my one-on-one work.

 

May we each meet the challenges in front of us with the correct energy.

Today, Eden and I are being flown to New York to deliver a workshop and do two days of Chakra Clearings for the employees of Rodale Publishing, the company that is responsible for magazines like Prevention, Men’s Health, and many others.  It was a real surprise to me that we are completely booked for all 48 slots for the mini-chakra clearing sessions that are being offered.

 

I think it’s quite a testament to the New times that we’re in that a company would include Chakra Clearings as a part of their month of “Health, Healing, and Happiness” for their employees.  Of course, we know that paying attention to the energy body and healing soul wounds has a profound impact on someone’s health and happiness.  It’s awesome now that more people are waking up to the knowledge that they can change the quality of their lives, not only by changing their thoughts, but also by being more aware of the energy that they carry.

 

To me, this is a huge shift from mental-level living to more soul-based living.  I said a while back that, in these times of great change, if you only live from the level of your mind, you’re often going to feel like you’re losing your mind.  It’s so important to be in touch with the non-linear parts of ourselves.  It’s there, the places where we experience ourselves that are beyond the mind, that our real truth resides.

 

We’ve all heard so many times to “follow our heart” that it’s hard for me to even write the cliche.  Yet, that is exactly the instrument that needs to “run the show”, for any choice that we’re about to make, whether it’s something around our careers, relationships, or personal matters with ourselves.

 

So today I encourage you to take a little time, whether it’s only 30 seconds in the shower or an hour that you can spend in nature or stillness, to connect with those parts of you that are not “just thinking”.  And if you happen to be around New York, Eden and I have some slots available for personal sessions for energy clearings later this week.  Just email back if you’d like to schedule an in-person session on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.

 

May you find peace this day.

Yesterday, I gave one of my most radically honest interviews ever regarding Purpose and how to connect more deeply to it.  I simply opened up and let the truth of my experience flow through.

 

To hear the in-depth discussion of ways that you can increase your connection to your highest path, here’s the direct link for the replay:

 

http://www.intentiontraining.com/2014/01/06/fulfilling-your-souls-journey/ 

Listen To Your Path

 

There are certain obstacles that shouldn’t be surmounted.  They are put in your path as indication that there’s a better way to go.  Yet, we need a keen level of discernment to know whether to push on in the face of adversity or whether we’re simply not on the right path right now.

 

On a recent mountain bike trek in Colorado, I was cruising along all by myself about 90 minutes in, when suddenly there were Bulls on the trail.  I mean, big, raging male cows who were looking at me as if they were going to charge (I later found out that there are several deaths a year from charging bulls).  I was doing my best to release all fear and simply be in love.  Yet, I came upon a spot where there were a lot of them directly on the trail where I wanted to go.

 

I was stuck.  I didn’t know what to do.  I wanted to reach the destination that I had intended that day – this beautiful, sacred spot by a stream where Eden and I had camped out two years earlier.

 

In my direct path on the trail, there were five bulls with some female cows and a few calves.  I was starting to get nervous as they shifted towards me.  I sensed that they were feeling like they needed to protect their young.

 

I noticed that if I deviated off the trail away from the bulls and went up the hill, I might be able to link up with the path again.  So with my bike on my shoulder I started walking off the path up the mountain, to where I thought the trail would eventually lead.  So here I am panting as I’m carrying my bike up this tremendously steep hill, in wet grass and bush up to my shoulders, and the thought comes in, “What in the world am I doing?  This doesn’t feel right at all.  This is really hard.  What am I doing this for?  Is this really the way I want to go?”

 

Then this thought came in like a thunderbolt:

 

“You have to listen to the path.”   

 

The path was telling me I went as far as I could go.  I definitely couldn’t go any farther on the trail with all of those bulls.  I could certainly climb the hill off the trail with my own sheer willpower, taking a lot of effort and energy to do so.  But to what avail?

 

“You have to listen to the path.”

 

This particular path that day was telling me that I had gone exactly as far as I was meant to go to learn the lesson that day.  I needed to simply appreciate this simple lesson of listening to the path as well as the other gifts that I had been given that day – like the spiritual experience it was to see male deer in the wild for the first time.

 

For me that day, I noted the big difference between flowing on a path that I’m meant to be on versus having to use a tremendous amount of willpower to get to where I think I should be going.

 

If you’re going to allow your path to unfold, then you have to listen to the path.  Of course you have to walk it.  And you have to have a high level of discernment in your listening to know if you should continue walking in a certain direction.

 

I’ve learned that it’s the step that you take before you take your first step that’s most important: To Listen.  To know what the appropriate action is for that particular moment.

 

May your path lead you to where you’re truly meant to go.

 

In the last 5 days, I’ve shed 13 years of living in New York City.  On both a physical level and energetic level, I’ve cleared out everything in my NY apartment.

 

I was actually dreading this recent trip to New York.  For the first couple of days, I had a very strong resistance to donating or selling anything.  I just wasn’t ready yet to post anything on Craigslist or contact the donation company.  I didn’t understand why.

 

On the morning of the 3rd day, it hit me.

 

“There’s no turning back.”

 

That’s the thought that came in like a lightning bolt.  Even though I’ve been living in California for the last 3 years, been married for the last two, and had a baby 6 months ago, I still had this perfect bachelor pad in NY to go back to at any time.

 

I wasn’t conscious of it. I never actually thought, “In case this whole wife and daughter thing doesn’t work out, I can always go back.”   That never crossed my mind.  Yet, energetically that path was available to me.

 

Not any more.

 

That “back door” is closed.  I realized that my trip to NY was about doing away with any other options except choosing powerfully the one path that I am already on.

 

It’s a cliché, but life is about choices.  Certain choices take us down certain paths.  And there are many paths available to us.  It’s simple enough, but we can’t walk down two paths at the same time.  Yet, how often do we try to? How often are we splitting our energies, instead of truly focusing on one area?  How often are we living in two or three different worlds instead of One World?

 

How many times, as move forward through the transitions of our lives, do we want another option, just in case this one doesn’t work out?

 

We don’t know what twists and turns are in the road.  We can’t see the future.  So we hold on to the past.

 

Because it’s known.

Because it’s familiar.

Because it’s safe.

 

Yet, we know that we can’t powerfully move forward when we’re still holding on to the past.

 

Now, that makes sense intellectually, but how often do we really live that way?

 

“I just want to get back to the way things were.”

 

We’ve heard that statement…we’ve probably said it as it pertains to a relationship, a business, or creative endeavor.

 

“Can’t it just be the way it used to be?”

 

No.

 

It can’t.

 

There’s no going back.

 

There’s only the way forward.  There’s only “this time”.

 

I encourage you to release those things from the past that don’t serve you any longer and move towards your highest path.

 

Choose powerfully.

 

Why would you choose any other way?

I didn’t want to write a 2013 “hype” blog. There are enough of those flying around at the moment.

Yet as I find myself contemplating this new year and this new age and what it all means, I can’t help but have a renewed sense of hope for all of us.

I believe that it can be different. I believe that no matter what has happened to us in the past, no matter how many times “we’ve really tried”, that somehow, this time it can be different.

Maybe we’ve gone through all of the experiences of our life just to get to the point where we are right now. That we’ve needed all of those lessons, all of the heartbreak, all of those transitions just so we could have the growth to be the person that we are at this very moment.

You have wisdom inside of you. This isn’t “your first time to the rodeo” as they used to say in the record business. It’s about drawing from that innate wisdom to step into your full power.

“Step into your full power” – What does that really mean?

I can only speak from my own experience. I can only write what occurs to me.

For me, stepping into my full power is:

1) Giving myself time to be in stillness everyday to draw from the strength of the universe. I’ve realized that the only way to experience the infiniteness of myself is to completely slow down, step outside of time, and step deeply into myself. Only by drawing from this place, can I have access to All That Is Knowable.

2) Not hiding. At all. It’s expressing the things I feel called to share in an uninhibited way. It’s sharing “just as I am”. It’s allowing myself to enter the flow and to be the flow. Here I am doing it right now in this moment.

3) Self-love. This is a continual lesson that I keep coming back to, as I tend to be pretty hard on myself. It comes in the form of self-judgment, negative self-talk at times, and even doubt lately. I believe it’s about getting real about our doubt. At times, we all have that voice inside our head that says, “Who do you think you are that you can do this?” Yet, while I know that it’s just one side of my brain trying to do its job, sometimes I think that voice is real. It takes seeing that voice for what it really is to detach from the common doubt that we share, to align myself again with my true self and my highest vision.

And I guess that brings us to the central questions:

What is your vision?

What are your hopes and dreams?

Can they live in a new way?

These are the things for you to ponder. These are the questions that you can only answer yourself. The world is waiting for what you can give by embracing your true purpose.

How much longer will you continue to make us wait?

Now is the time to step into your full power.