We avoid the things that we're afraid of because we think there will be dire consequences if we confront them. But the truly dire consequences in our lives come from avoiding things that we need to learn about or discover.

The very actions themselves can be a meditation. For me, walking is certainly a meditation if I walk for awhile. First my mind is busy and I'm thinking about different things and after a while that starts to fall away and I start to become very present in the moment. And that feeling of being present in the moment is being. That's when we know we're connecting with being energy.

My willingness to be intimate with my own deep feelings creates the space for intimacy with another.

If you are always waiting to be, do, or have what you want, your energy becomes blocked. Your body may reflect this in excess weight or other physical problems. Express yourself directly. Set clear boundaries with other people and do what you need to do to take good care of yourself. Energy will then move freely through your body and this circulation will dissolve any excess weight. The more you are willing to be yourself, the less you'll need to use food as a substitute nurturer. You will be receiving the natural nurturing of the universe.

All our relationships, especially the deep ones, stir up the deepest issues for us that we need to confront and work with.

The process of change does not occur on superficial levels, through mere 'positive thinking.' It involves exploring, discovering, and changing our deepest, most basic attitudes toward life.

That has been my personal relationship with God-a connection with the powerful, loving, wise energy in all of us, in all creation. It is the life force itself. We can all have contact with it each moment in our lives, but it takes commitment and practice. We must be willing to move through all our deepest fears, doubts, and misunderstandings.