The winter solstice has always been special to me as a barren darkness that gives birth to a verdant future beyond imagination, a time of pain and withdrawal that produces something joyfully inconceivable, like a monarch butterfly masterfully extracting itself from the confines of its cocoon, bursting forth into unexpected glory.

When someone new comes into your life and suddenly you feel more alive, more beautiful, more sexual, more creative, more desirable and more engaged; you feel that this new person is the key to those feelings. But actually, you have these qualities too. What you don't see and don't acknowledge in yourself, you project onto someone else. Carl Jung explored this very well. He called it projection.

Choosing not to act on an angry impulse and to feel the pain that lies beneath it is a very courageous thing to do.

Authentic power is a new potential of this expanded perceptual system that we are all being given as a gift. As you begin to create authentic power with tools such as emotional awareness, responsible choice and intuition, you begin to draw to yourself others who are doing the same thing.

Throughout your life, your inner landscape presents its contents to you again and again. When you are aware of all its elements, you are in continual communication with your soul.

Joy is a very high frequency current of energy with a great deal of energy content. Somebody who is joyful has a lot of energy.

Becoming integrated and whole is the spiritual path. The body is your vehicle. Your job is to learn about yourself from your experiences and change yourself. This is spiritual growth.