Sometimes challenges loom large and impossible, yet as soon as they are tackled they are found to be quite easy and manageable. It is the human mind that throws up blockages and fears, and yet it is the human spirit that has the ability to scale the impossible. Sometimes it is best to pay attention to the mind for it has the ability to figure out many things, yet at other times only the spirit will provide the necessary wit, intelligence, and guidance. Often it is better to still the mind and let the spirit speak. Remember this as you go about your day, as fear and habits, as mind talk and body restrictions seek to hold you back. Listen and act according to your true energetic self. Your spirit will not disappoint you.

Every day offers the opportunity to plot a new course, to take a new route, to veer off the well-trodden path and go off on an adventure. Every day is a day of opportunity. With that in mind, hold onto the bigger picture and the true desires of your spirit, which might actually be leading you in a direction and toward a goal that you are at this time totally unaware of. Look to your dreams for guidance—messages from your spirit—as much as you look to the world outside of you for signs and messages.

To engage opportunity means not only making decisions and taking actions, but remaining always open, a part of you always attentive and listening for the openings that will take you on your true journey. At the same time, remember that every step is a step on your true journey. Be open to the opportunity that that insight offers! Live with awareness every day.

Wind plays with water, ruffling its calm surface, dispelling energy, taking it afar. And yet high above the wind stillness reigns, just as it does deep in the water’s depths. Remember this as you face your discontent and that of others. Remember that in retreat to stiller and calmer energy there is time for reflection and rejuvenation. In retreat may clarity address your worries and your truth be known and accepted. Still the wind and calm the waters of your own soul with this same intent, taking respite in the depths and in the heights of your own being.

Make a commitment to the self. Pledge full disclosure and full access to all that you are, to revealing and accepting all that you are as the fodder for your life and your growth. In this manner discover more fully the path you are on and the challenges you must address in order to change, grow and evolve.

All beings upon that earth are there for a reason and all reasons are waiting within the structures of the self and the life you are in, waiting to emerge and be resolved. Look to the self even as you look to others. If you are to truly grow you must nurture and cultivate the self. You must weed and water the soil you are rooted in. You must allow for fresh air and expansion within and without. This is the core work of the committed evolutionary being.

We send best wishes to everyone for a calm and peaceful holiday. We will resume our weekly blogs next week, though Soulbytes will continue to be posted over the weekend. Here is today’s guidance.

Let not outer circumstances disturb your inner balance. Remain steady inside and out no matter what you encounter and no matter where life takes you. Your encounters without, however, are meaningful. Find the deeper meaning in them. What do they say about you? What do they point out to you about your own behavior? In this manner will compassion be awoken within. Allow it to gently emerge without in a natural manner and notice how it makes you feel within. Perhaps then you will understand what it means to be in balance. Yes, as within, so without, but as without so within is equally true.