Life Jacket

I possess a life jacket.

I saw a man in the water beside me,
Drowning.
The waves were rough.
He could not keep his head
Above the surf.
I threw him my life jacket
Because I could swim.
He tried his best to put it on,
But he was swallowed by the sea.

I grew tired
Of fighting the waves.
I found my life jacket
And put it on.
I became the jacket
And allowed it to save me.

It was only then I noticed:
Another life jacket floated above the place
The drowning man went down.

~Cindy Shippy Evans

My Christmas Wish For You!

Twenty-sixteen has been a struggle for many of us. Illness, death, financial struggles, employment setbacks all seem to have combined to create massive upheaval and chaos in our lives. The energies have been intense and not particularly pleasant for those of us who have chosen to become more than we are at present.

You may feel that all is lost and there is not much hope, but understand these are exciting times we reside in! It is through pain and struggle that we become so much more. Life is not lived on the mountain tops, but in the valleys and slogging up and down the sides of the mountain. Yes, the view from the top is great, but is is only the pain of the journey that allows us to see it.

As I sit here in the quiet of this Christmas morning, I feel the pain and struggles of humanity. While I know this too shall pass, it doesn't make the process any less comfortable. We will continue to struggle in the year ahead, but I do believe 2017 is a year we will begin to see significant change. The more we allow ourselves to go with the process, the more quickly and easily the process becomes.

My wish for you in the coming year is that you learn to appreciate the process! Understand change only happens through great pressure. Many of us undergo the adjustment kicking and screaming because we are being removed from our comfortable ruts. Becoming better is not easy or pleasant, but it is required if we desire to live in a better world.

Merry Christmas! May 2017 be the year you break out of the dark cocoon of your imprisonment and learn to use your wings!

~CSE

Forgiveness Doesn't Absolve the Offender, It Frees the Offended

We need to get over the belief that, somehow, forgiveness is all about letting someone else off the hook for something they've done to hurt you. Forgiveness is not about them! Forgiveness is all about you--your learning, your progress, your freedom! Forgiveness does not make the wrong right. Forgiveness allows you to move out of harmful energy into a state of empowerment! Allow yourself to let go of hurts. You may find yourself in a whole new glorious way of BEing!

~CSE

An Empath Reads the United States of America

The aftershocks from the latest Presidential election have been jaw dropping. In my 51 years of life, I have never seen such a divisive and explosive campaign or result, and it crosses both sides of the aisle. People have literally lost their minds to the point they are no longer thinking rationally but are acting through pure (negative) emotion. Even people I consider intellectual--who pride themselves on thinking logically--are displaying wounded animals instincts.

My message to Trump supporters: Get over yourselves. You can say what you want about sucking it up during the Obama years, but this is not the same thing! The Divide and Conquer tactics of the supposed "elite" have ramped this election up to new heights because Trump was not their man. You could see it in pretty much every story put out by the mainstream media. Although FOX sort of came around, they pretty much only did so because Trump supporters are their market share. Obama and Hillary are totally controlled by the "elite" so of course they do not have to deal with the same backlash from the media propaganda machine. Look at what has happened over the course of the last year. Even the Bush family all voted for Hillary! If that has not told you how controlled we are in this country, you are blind. Telling people you don't have to respect them or their choices because they didn't respect yours during the Obama years is petty and childish. Two wrongs do not make a right! Grow up and show yourselves to be bigger than that! Show these people you still love them! Only that will show them the sort of people you truly are.

My message to Hillary supporters: Your family, friends and neighbors who voted for Trump are still the same people you knew and loved before the election. They are not racist, homophobic bigots who are ready to rescind immigrant status. They still love you. They still love their families and desire to see people provided for. This usually just happens to focus on jobs as opposed to focusing on welfare. Understand they have been trained to believe welfare takes up a bigger chunk of tax money that it actually does and have been brainwashed not to see the much larger portions of tax money that go toward corporate welfare and the war machine. They really don't desire to see people disenfranchised and starving.

The bottom line is this: Regardless of who is President, know that true power does not lie in that office. True power lies within each and every one of us! Regardless of Presidential policy, regardless of the way the media is used as propaganda, we all have a choice. We can choose to become the mindless animals the "elite" want us to become and fight each other until they have to lock us all up to control us. We can choose to remember the beings of light and love that we are and come together to fix the massive problems in our country today.

What happens in our country tomorrow will be the direct result of how we respond today! Make your actions count! Choose to come together with your fellow human beings to change the world! BE the change you wish to see in the world! Think and be deliberate instead of playing to someone else's script! We are so much more than we are showing ourselves to be at present!!!

~CSE

Choose LOVE!!!

You Have The Power To Slay Your Own Dragons!

From the time we are small children, we are fed the idea that we are not enough but there will always be something bigger and better than ourselves who will ride in and save the day. It happens in fairy tales. It happens in movies. It even happens in religions.

As long as we fail to acknowledge our own greatness, we are doomed to wait for a savior who never comes. We don't overcome obstacles. We don't solve problems. We sit in the shadows and wait for somebody else--anybody else--to do the work.

Understand you are a gifted and talented being of light and love. Understand you have the power within to change your world for the better! Understand the savior you wait for is you!

Pick up your sword, slay your dragon and gain your freedom!

~CSE

Truth And Perspective

My definition of truth is all that IS (exists). Understand that none of us have an actual handle on it. Truth is too big, too multifaceted, for most people to see anything but a small portion of it at any given time. Truth exists. It does not change. What does change is the part of it we choose to see--our perspective.

In my present lifetime, I have been a big believer in only one lifetime and in reincarnation (not at the same time). There have been times when I strongly believed Jesus died for my sins and times when I knew I am the one who is responsible for saving myself. I have believed being homosexual or heterosexual (or anything else) is something born in you. There are times in my life I believed it could successfully be trained out of you. I say none of this to put you on the defensive or begin an argument with you. I point these things out about myself because they illustrate how my perspective has changed over time. Truth itself has not changed. What has changed is how I look at it.

Understand we are all here for our own divine purposes--to learn our own lessons. Trying to convince someone else you have the truth never works because not everyone is here to learn what you came to learn, nor are they here to see everything from your perspective. It is only by allowing each other to have the experiences they came here to learn that we are able to free ourselves for our own divine purpose. Your life is about you. Make the most of it.

~CSE

Our Culture Of Rape And Abuse

I was sixteen years old the first summer I volunteered at a camp for abused and neglected children. One of the campers I befriended that week was a mere two years younger than me. As we spent time hanging out, she began to open up to me and share her story. Part of that story involved being raped at the hands of her father. So many emotions went through me. Love and concern and sadness for her. Anger that her father--a person who was supposed to protect her--could do such a thing. There was absolutely nothing I could do for her except listen and let her know I valued her and that what had happened to her was not her fault. I still don't know why she chose to share, but I do know that my response to her made a difference. We continued to be friends even outside of camp for the next few years until I went out of state to college.

We want to believe such circumstances are the exceptions and not the rule. The simple truth is, they are not the exceptions. Our culture of rape and abuse is so prevalent that the little evidences we see of it every day get glossed over and accepted as though they are just a normal part of life. Let me be clear: rape and abuse are not normal or healthy! Denying it is present in almost every facet of our lives only keeps us in darkness. Healing cannot take place under such conditions.

You believe I am being too hard on society? I beg to differ. According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network), an American is sexually assaulted every two minutes. The majority of victims are under thirty years of age. One out of every six women is a victim of rape or attempted rape during her lifetime. One in thirty-three men have experienced rape or attempted rape in their lifetimes. Personally, I believe the statistics are much higher. These are the ones that get reported and prosecuted.

It is amazing to me how much this discussion has opened up because of the Donald Trump recording that has recently become the center of political debate. I do not want to make it sound as though I am excusing his behavior. I am not. I do want to point out it is part of our culture of rape and abuse that, up to this point, we have largely overlooked. Although Trump's arrogance and moxie make him an easy target, this sort of behavior within politics and power is nothing new. Everyone is throwing Bill's misdeeds back and even Hillary's past successful defense of a child rapist in order to justify the behavior (and their personal candidates). The simple truth is, this is all wrong! Two, or four, or a million wrongs can never make verbal or physical rape and abuse okay. If you don't want it in politics, it is time to stand up and throw it ALL out!!! The rape and abuse culture within politics is pervasive on both sides of the aisle.

More importantly, it is time to begin to recognize where we have made rape and abuse acceptable in our society. Look no farther than popular culture. The Fifty Shades of Grey book series, about an S&M sexual relationship, has sold over 125 million worldwide. Guilty pleasure or programmed response? A quick glance at TV and movie offerings show a lot more sexual encounters, many of them rough or violent in nature. The vast majority of us in the US have witnessed rape scenarios in something we have watched. Even simple "locker room talk" is thought to bring accolades to the person speaking of their sexual prowess--which is why it happens in the first place. It is this sort of "acceptable" behavior in our society we need to take a serious look at and question. This is how proven rapists end up getting sentenced to two month in jail!

When rape and abuse occur, many of us try to ignore it and sweep it under the rug. We are told things like "he was drunk", "you were drunk", "it is not a good thing to talk about in public", "you are going to ruin his/her whole life because of one little mistake", "boys don't get raped". Often, we try to forget, but the damage is done. We are left broken and scarred. We feel afraid and alone. The sad part is, we are not alone. More of us have been touched by this violence than we care to admit.

Until we are willing to shine a light on this darkness, the darkness will persist. Until we are willing to open up the discussion acknowledging this is a problem, rape and abuse will be part of our everyday culture.

I can no longer personally stomach sitting back and watching this illness take hold of more and more people. I am more than ready for this discussion! Join me?

~CSE

Your Heart Contains The Map To The Universe!

This lovely artwork was created by my beautiful friend Jennifer Thompson. I saw it this morning and knew I needed to share it with you! (For more on the talented Jennifer, you can connect with her at: Jillyhop.)

The world can be a confusing place! Normally we rely on our brains to plot our course in the Universe. Mistakes are common as we depend on the information we have learned through society and our environment by engaging our five senses--extremely limited information at best. Solutions that come from this place only take into account those perspectives you are actually able to see and will not address the bigger picture.

Enter the guidance and wisdom of the heart! The heart is what binds and connects us to Oneness--the place where everything is present and nothing is judged. This is the place of all truth, all knowledge, all understanding. When we learn to connect with our hearts, we learn to connect with our inner knowing--to the knowledge of all that IS. It is in this way that our hearts act as our internal guidance system!

There is a map to the Universe contained within your heart! Learn to focus on this inner knowing and your life will begin to flow much more easily with less problems and effort.

~CSE

We're Transitioning To Fourth Dimensional Thinking!

September has been an exceptionally crazy month for me. One of my social media friends, Christine DeLorey, who is a very gifted and intuitive numerologist, points out that we are presently in the ninth month of a nine year. Nine is the number of completion, a time to wrap up old business in preparation for a new beginning.

This morning while in my meditation time, I happened to ask the Universe a new question. The question was, "What am I missing in all this upheaval?" It has been obvious to me that my life is changing in big and powerful ways, but the destination has been extremely fuzzy. What came to me was very unexpected. We are transitioning to Fourth Dimensional thinking!

What does that mean, exactly? From a scientific standpoint, it means we are beginning to more easily access a dimension that includes aspects of time. However, science as we know it has trouble accessing this dimension because it goes beyond the 3-D physical aspect of the world. It is the world of dreamers and mystics--the place where things not usually visible to the five physical senses exist. Yes, this is the world of spirit--of fairies, of angels, of demons, etc.

There are several practical ways you can begin to access these new energies. The first way is to allow yourself to become sympathetic to native cultures all over the world. Native cultures typically have a leg up on the rest of "civilized" society. They have not allowed science to interfere with the spiritual information they access. They communicate with guardian spirits of the Earth. This is how shamans know what plants are useful for various types of healing. This is how they know what sort of weather changes are coming or what destructive forces need to be stopped. Native cultures all over the world know how to access this information. By studying their ways, you can begin to learn as well.

Understand what is going on with the Dakota Access Pipeline protests is part of the transition we are all making to the Fourth Dimension. It is definitely about saving Mother Earth, but there is so much more to it than that. We are all beginning to hear the cries of our spiritual mother, and this is spurring us into action. We are feeling our own connection to the spiritual plane.

Another practical way you can assess the fourth dimension is through relationships with animals and plants. Animals are easier for most people to understand than plants, but both work. Do you have a pet you are fond of? Do you intuitively know what your pet needs at any given moment? Do you have conversations with your pet that only you can hear? Understand this is not your imagination! Animals communicate at a fourth dimensional level. So do plants. Allow yourself to acknowledge the insights you can gain through your fellow spiritual beings.

It is time to begin our transition to the world of spirit! Be intentional about it, and your world will begin to open up in powerful new ways!

~CSE

  

What If It Isn't Broken?

There's a lot going on in my life right now. My mom is having heart problems. My husband is dealing with his own health issues and isn't working presently. My daughter is having personal struggles. Finances are stretched tight, and my eleven year old car has been in the shop for the better part of two weeks. Needless to say, my stress levels are at an all time high with no end in sight. Tears have been a daily occurrence of late as I struggle to cope with it all. Still, with everything that is taking place I find myself asking this question: What if it isn't broken?

As humans, we are conditioned to see the world in black and white--good/bad, right/wrong, sin/righteousness, etc. We are also programmed to do what we can to fix what is perceived as broken. I'll admit, some of this comes naturally as what we see as problems often bring pain. Very few of us enjoy living with pain so we work to achieve something different.

What if the circumstances of our lives are not really problems? What if they are only perceived as problems? What if the goal our life is not to avoid situations deemed sinful or wrong or bad but to experience all the nuances that this three-dimensional life has to offer? What if we came to earth to play in everything--messy, outrageous or otherwise?

Yes, I am stressed out. Yes, I know it will all pass eventually. What experiences are to be gained in this moment of now? What insights? What awarenesses? How can I use all the messy circumstances of my life to grow as a person?

I have said this before. We didn't come to planet Earth to be perfect. We came to Earth to be human. BEing human encompasses the full range of experiences and emotions--not just those considered "good". 

There are many things in my life at present I have been conditioned to see as bad--things I am supposed to fix. I'll ask again: what if it isn't broken? What if I am here to feel...to experience...to think...to grow? What if this series of events is designed to expand me so much I am a new creation?

It is only in brokenness we are made whole.

~CSE

Self-Care

In all the craziness that is my life, I am really bad about neglecting my own needs. I look out for my husband's needs, my parent's needs, my granddaughter's need, my children's needs, my customer's needs, etc. etc., but most days I don't think enough of my own importance to spare myself a caring thought. Consequently, I often feel empty, sad, angry and just plain exhausted as I allow my own needs to go unmet.

The thing is, I do know that I am important (even though that importance does not often take priority). In those moments when I begin to feel drained, I understand it is my turn! After all, if I don't take the time to make sure my own needs are met, how do I expect to continue to help others? An empty vessel has nothing left to give!

When life becomes especially stressful, it is extremely important to take at least a few minutes of the day for yourself. Read a book. Watch a favorite comedy show. Take a hike in the woods or beside the ocean. Sing a song. Paint. Cook a nice meal for (or with) a friend. When you take time to enjoy your life, those empty places get filled back up. You are uplifted, renewed!

Never regret the time you spend doing something for yourself. If you don't make yourself a priority, no one else will either! Remember: you are worth it!

~CSE

New Life From the Rubble

My life has certainly not gone according to plan. Lately it seems as though all hell has broken loose and I am in the middle of a storm that threatens to overwhelm me. Tears have been a daily occurrence as the stresses of my life continue to rage.

One thought keeps me going through the chaos. All the big, powerful changes in my life have been the result of my world breaking apart. The process is always rough and painful. Change is painful. We become so comfortable in our ruts that being forced out of them makes us scream in anguish. In order to see our way out of the pain, we have to think and act differently. We BEcome new creations!

In those moments when you believe your life is breaking apart, remember that new life emerges from the fragments! Keep going!

~CSE

  

The Energy Of Judgment

We live in a world where we are taught to judge. Everything is perceived as good or bad, and then we draw those good things toward us and distance ourselves from those that are bad. This is where the problems begin. When we chose to consciously stop or repel certain things from entering our lives, we have created blocks to otherwise free-flowing energy.

Let's break this concept down a little bit more. Judgment is a symptom of thinking with the mind. What do I mean by thinking with the mind? (And isn't that they way we are supposed to think in the first place?) Our minds are what we use to process all the stimulus we connect with in the 3D world around us. We get sensory information from our senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. We also receive ideas and concepts from the people around us--parents, friends, coworkers, society in general. We use the sensory information to understand things and people in our environment. We learn that a fire is hot and can hurt us, so we either stay away from it or are very cautious around it. We learn that homemade chocolate chip cookies make our tastebuds happy, so we are attracted to them. The ideas we learn from society are a much deeper level of judgement.

I'm not going to mince words here. What we learn from society is programming. It begins from the moment of our births and is incorporated into pretty much everything we do. These thoughts and ideas about what constitutes good and bad are so ingrained in us that we automatically assume they are truths. We then begin to use this information to tell us what to keep in our lives and what to avoid. This is where all biases and prejudices come from. The end result becomes fighting, war, greed, poverty, disease, etc.

Take a few minutes to sit back and think about something you consciously stay away from. It might be religion or drug addicts or fake people--the list is pretty unlimited. Have you been personally hurt by these things? (The answer might be yes.) Has society told you these things are bad? Is this true?

Look and feel into the relationship you have with this person, group or object you are judging. Do you feel closed off? Insulated? Separate? Understand this is a choice you have made based on the thoughts your mind filters. The choice may have been unconsciously made, but it was made all the same and can have an effect on how well your life flows (or, more likely, does not flow). Judgment is an energy that can keep you from living abundantly.

The planet is evolving. It is time to be conscious of all those things that hold us back from creating a new world--the world of our dreams. As long as we hold judgment, we block energy from flowing. Learn to let go of your judgment. Learn to let your heart be your guide.

~CSE

      

Thankful For The Darkness

There are times in life where it doesn't rain but it pours. My life in recent weeks has reflected this as I struggle with my mom's approaching heart surgery, my husband's health problems, my oldest son's wedding, car problems, etc. It seems as though everything in my life has culminated in one perfect storm and I am at a loss with how to cope with it all. That said, this morning as I sit in quiet meditation I am thankful for the darkness that surrounds me.

I have survived a lot of perfect storms in my life. I was saved from a cult that blinded me when I was a young adult seeking truth. I lived through a very painful episode where my first daughter died less than a day after her birth. I was terribly broken and drained from my first marriage and subsequent divorce--so much so it took almost ten years to restore myself to some degree of normalcy. The turn of events I now find myself in is not exceptional as far as my life goes.

The thing is, all these major challenges in my life have done amazing things for me. The cult experience taught me that I am indeed directly connected to God/Source and I need to rely on that connection for my answers and guidance instead of on what other people tell me. The death of my infant daughter taught me how to be compassionate in the face of blinding loss. The demise of my first marriage and subsequent rebuilding of myself from the ground up taught me what my strengths and weaknesses are and what I deserve and don't deserve from life. Yes, the pain from all these events was significant, but in process I was able to overcome major obstacles. This is where the most powerful growth comes from. As difficult as these situations were, they changed me in very positive ways. I will never be the same and I am blessed because of it.

As I sit, wondering where my life is going to go from here, I am reassured there is light somewhere around the corner. Great darkness brings powerful change (and ironically, I have been praying for powerful change to come into my life). It appears it is indeed time for me to move into the next phase of my earthly existence.

Great change is the result of weathering great difficulties. It is darkness that prompts a person to make the changes necessary to forge a new life path. Darkness always precedes the light. Although I am in the midst of the darkness, I am thankful. I know I am experiencing a very powerful growth process, and this knowing brings me peace.

~CSE

  

    

When God Shows Up As An Atheist

I have struggled in recent weeks. Several people in my immediate family are having major health issues. I see a need to stay home more and take care of my family, yet I really do need the income that my job brings in. On top of that, my oldest son is getting married in a few short weeks. Although I (fortunately) am not doing the planning, with everything else going on even finding a dress to wear is a struggle. Stress has overwhelmed me to the point of tears on many occasions during the last few weeks. I have spent a great deal of time in prayer and meditation as I attempt to cope with the circumstances of my life. I have seen little glimpses of God here and there, but yesterday evening I ate dinner with him. He showed up in the form of a dear, old friend, who also happens to be atheist!

I've known this particular friend for perhaps fifteen or sixteen years, since the time her now high school senior son was in my two-year-old class at the daycare I worked at. She is not an outspoken atheist. In fact, I didn't even know she was one until last night. I knew she didn't have an interest in religion. She is a very hardworking HR-type professional who also happens to have a great sense of humor and is a lot of fun to hang out with. I had managed to reconnect with her through social media, but it wasn't until I ran into her at my retail job that I realized how much I had missed her. We talked about getting together over dinner and eventually made the plans that culminated in dinner last evening.

Yesterday was an especially difficult day. I spent a lot of time just trying to take care of me as I sort through all the messy details of my life and try to figure out a game plan. I have to admit, I almost called my friend and told her I had a headache (which I did) and asked to reschedule. I wasn't feeling particularly social and I did not want to come across as Debbie Downer. Somehow, I ended up going anyway, and I am glad I did.

During the course of the conversation I ended up telling her everything that was going on in my life. (So much for not being Debbie Downer!) The great part was, my friend asked a lot of questions and not just about the problems. She asked what I was doing for me and pointed out the simple truth that if I didn't work at filling myself back up I would have nothing left to give back out.

I talked about my goals of writing and doing workshops designed to help others cope with life and heal themselves. My friend pointed out that one of my gifts was the gift of presence. I have a tendency to show up and interact with others in powerful ways. People that know me personally like me and trust me. She suggested that in order to touch people in the ways I desire to I should look at connecting with them as a physical presence. I have to admit, that was one aspect of my life I had not looked at. It was a powerful insight. I spend a lot of time hiding in the shadows.

I have prayed so often for insight and direction as I struggle to take control of my life in new and positive ways. It's really quite brilliant to see an answer to prayer show up in the form of an atheist. I know my friend probably wouldn't see it this light, but last night she showed up as God in human form, helping me see myself from a new perspective.  

We are all Divine energy--unique expressions of God interacting with each other in profound ways. Although we don't always acknowledge this truth, it is times like these I am reminded of this simple fact.

~CSE

Finding the Divine Within

In this heavy and dense 3-dimensional existence, we often feel alone, separate from everyone and everything in the world around us. It is this sense of separation that leads us to feelings of fear and depression. We don't feel we have the power to cope with the obstacles we face every day. Indeed, we are taught to look outside ourselves for something bigger and better that can to save us. We see this scenario played out in our fairy tales, our television programs and even our religions.

The fact of the matter is, each one of us contains a spark of the Divine. Each one of us has the ability to tap into a place deep within that connects us to Source energy and all that is. This is the place of all wisdom and understanding. This is where we know we are part of the grand whole that is life itself. We are never alone once we understand and live this connection.

Separation is an illusion. Learn to connect to that place inside that connects you to all that is Divine. Your life will never be the same!

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic! How have you felt this connection to the Divine and what was your experience? Your understanding might be key for someone else to experience their own connection! Please share below!

~CSE

Goal Setting And Living In The Now

I have always been a goal setter. I tend to daydream big dreams. Then I think up possible ways to get there. The problem with that approach is that life has a tendency to get in the way. Nothing ever turns out the way I have planned it. Somehow, I do arrive at my destination, just not the way I wanted to. Ironically, I usually get there kicking and screaming and don't even realize it until I have been at the destination for a while!

It has dawned on me lately that I am not often focused on living in the present moment. I am so caught up in my future plans that I don't appreciate what I am doing in the here and now. The worst part is, living in the future also leads to a great deal of unnecessary worry. Worst case scenarios have a tendency to pop up, limiting your enjoyment of what is happening in the present moment and stealing your joy.

As of today, I am going to attempt to not plan. What? Not plan? Not anticipate? How in the world will I get things done? How will my goals be accomplished? The answer is simple: I am going to allow my heart to do the planning. I am going to allow my heart to guide me! (Novel idea, huh, as that is the whole goal of this blog!)

The plan is simple enough. I'm going to make a list of things I would like to accomplish in future. Then I'll to fold it up and put it someplace I will be able to access it periodically (but not necessarily front and center). Once that is accomplished, I am going to do my best to forget about the list and live each moment in the here and now. The goal will be to follow the guidance and wisdom that comes from my heart!

There is a method to my madness. Making the list will set the intention. God/Source and my higher self know the best way to get there. By living in the now and accessing God and my higher self through my heart connection, they will guide me by showing me what will make me happy and bring me joy in the present moment. I do not need to think (key word) about the future. As all time (past, present and future) exists where God and my higher self are, accessing their wisdom should yield results.

I do plan to access my list occasionally--hopefully not more than once a month or so because I don't want to dwell on it too much. The goal here is to observe whether or not I have made any noticeable progress.

I am not going to detail my list here, other than to say that one of my main goals is transitioning to a place where I no longer need to work part-time for someone else as I have all the resources I need working for myself. These lists are meant to be personal. You need not feel pressure to reveal your goals to anyone else unless you want someone else to witness your transformation.

As a planet, we are in a heavy growth phase. Chaos seems to reign supreme as we transfer our awareness to growth and new ways of doing things. The shift we are making involves learning to live in the now and following the wisdom that comes from communion with God and our higher selves through connection with our hearts. This method of goal setting is designed to help people stay focused on heart-based living. Join me? Together we can change the course of the entire planet! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!!!

~CSE

   

Exploring Communion With The Divine

Although this is technically a Christian song, it works on many levels. It speaks to connection to the Divine. It speaks to flow. There is no want here--no lack. Everything is present. Everything is perfect. Everything appears at the appropriate time it is needed.

The more we allow ourselves to play in this Divine energy where everything is perfect--even life's "imperfections", we allow ourselves to trust. We allow ourselves to heal. We bring wholeness to ourselves and our lives. We BEcome the change!

Music can be the portal through which we let our guards down and allow ourselves to become One with the Divine. Explore this space! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

The light in me honors and delights in the light in you!

~CSE

You Are Not Your Mistakes

We have all been taught to believe mistakes are bad things. Mistakes are learning things. They are tools we use to learn about the world around us, nothing more. The shame and guilt we are trained to hold on to because of our mistakes only serve to keep us trapped in blocked, stagnant energy. Mistakes can bring awareness and even healing if we allow ourselves to gain the benefits of them.

You are a divine BEing of light and love. Don't allow your mistakes to define who you are and where you can go in life. Instead, allow your mistakes to grow you. Your life will never be the same!

~CSE

On The Way To The Election

An interesting thing has happened on the way to the US Presidential election. It was not something I anticipated although I did receive some indication that change was afoot. The signs of discontent are obvious in the world around me.

For those of you who know me, I have been a "conspiracy theorist" for a while now. I have spent the last few years raging against the machine that has enslaved us. I've done a pretty good job keeping up with the latest information and doing my part to educate the public on what is going on behind-the-scenes. Still, something is missing.

I have been a conspiracy theorist for around five years. I know people who have been on to this information for twenty or thirty years. When you read alternative news stories, you come to feel that big things are being done behind-the-scenes to overcome the oppression and that a major breakthrough will occur any day. There is an expression conspiracy theorists (who have at least a little time under their belt) like to use to describe such "breakthroughs". Hurry up and wait! As I mentioned, there are people out there who have been waiting thirty years for change to occur. We are still waiting.

Why is that? We are still waiting because we have been conditioned to wait for a hero! We listen to fairy tales where the white knight rides up on his gallant steed to save the beautiful princess from the terrible dragon. We study religions that tell us that, when the world has fallen into ultimate evil, a savior will appear to gather up the righteous. Here in the US, we believe a new President will solve all our problems (even though it hasn't happened yet).

What we fail to recognize is that we need to be our own heroes! When we look to someone or something other than ourselves to save us, we have given up our own power and placed it in the hands of another. Nothing happens because the power is now in the hands of someone who just desires control, and he likes things the way they are!

I have known for a while that I personally needed to step up and do something to change my world. Ironically, when this latest presidential contest came up, I once again began looking at candidates to see what they have to offer. I like Bernie Sanders because his platform is the most human and actually takes the little guy into consideration. Also, he walks his talk. Even though Trump is an insider in many ways, I don't believe he is a terrible choice because I can see the current powers that be don't want him in office. That is obvious to me from the facts that Republican leadership has not backed him (aka the Bush cabal) and that the mainstream media is going overboard in terms of twisting everything he says to make him look like a terrible monster. Hillary...I'm not even going to go there.

For a while, I found myself drawn up into all the rhetoric. That's when it hit me. Not only were we decimating the platforms and characters of the candidates themselves, but we were also ascribing extremely negative attributes to anyone who was "stupid" enough to vote for those candidates. For example, anyone who chose Bernie was automatically labeled a socialist, which brings to mind a society of lazy misfits who give up all constitutional rights because of their apathy. Trump supporters are bigoted monsters who will end up killing minorities just like the WWII era Germans did under Hitler. (Does anyone else see how extreme these views are? We are ascribing these traits to people we know and love!)

We have allowed ourselves to be drawn into the same old "us" vs. "them" arguments that are the backbone of the Divide and Conquer strategy of control the supposed elite have used to dominate us for centuries! As long as we see our family, our friends and our neighbors as the enemy, we will be so occupied fighting that our leaders can do any darn thing they want behind the scenes and make it stick!

On the way to the election, I discovered that I have changed. I can finally see the many ways I personally have been drawn into the struggles. I understand how I am part of the fight that leads to giving up my own personal power and control. I now hurt when I see all the negative attributes being placed on my fellow humans in order to keep us all embroiled in the fight.

I am done playing their game. It is time to stand in my own power and listen to the guidance of my heart. Our world will not be saved as long as we seek something outside ourselves. WE are the ones we've been waiting for! Join me!!!

~CSE

Dropping The Survival-Of-The-Fittest Mentality

Many people believe we live in a dog-eat-dog world where only the fittest survive. I am not one of those people. I believe we have been programmed to act that way, but that survival-of-the-fittest mentality is not our natural state.

Look at infants and small children. They cry when they hear another baby cry. The laugh when they hear another person laugh. I spent years working with small children, and I was always amazed at how perceptive they were when I was upset or hurt (and trying not to show it).

As humans, we have done enough damage to ourselves, each other and the planet. It is time to leave this destructive survival-of-the-fittest lifestyle behind and come together to create constructive and positive change. Our very survival depends upon our ability to come together with our fellow humans and work together. Side-by-side, hand-in-hand, we WILL make a difference!

~CSE

A Perfect World

I have many fond memories from my growing up years of a place called Camp Bountiful. It's a camp owned by the church I grew up in, settled in the hills of southeastern Ohio. I used to spend a couple of weeks there every summer, attending family camp (affectionately known as Reunion) and any youth camp I was either eligible to attend or old enough to help/volunteer with. Although it is a beautiful place and I participated in a lot of fun activities there, it was not those things that kept me coming back. What kept me coming back was the spirit I found there--the connection to God and the love that surrounded me.

I was twelve the summer I became conscious of it. I was attending one of my first Junior High camps. Because I was extremely outgoing and had been attending camps here since I was a toddler, I was in my element. I was good at making friends. In fact, I often had friends that didn't like each other. As it happened, two of my good friends that week were enemies. Both of them asked me individually why I liked the other one. I proceeded to talk about the best qualities of the other, although I could tell I wasn't believed. I ignored the friction between the two, but I could feel it just the same.

One of the best things about youth camps were the campfires held at night. There were lively songs and funny skits in the first part of campfire that would slowing transition into a much more mellow place of calm and peace. Usually toward the end of the week, campfires would open to periods of reflection and people were encouraged to share what they had learned throughout the course of the week.

The final campfire that week was a magical one. The experiences people shared spoke of great love, which ultimately binds us all. My two friends who had been in conflict that week apologized to each other and forged the beginning bonds of friendship. The presence of God was powerfully present--so much so I began to see the images of angels among the trees that were the backdrop of our campfire. Everything was perfect at that time in that place.

A soft misty rain fell the following day as we left camp. It almost felt as though God was a little sad that we had to leave this place of connection to go back to our lives in the "real" world. While the goal of camp is to take such feelings back into the world with the hope of growing them there, it was difficult to leave the perfection of that place--the perfection of that feeling.

That is the world I envision. While many would say it is a pipe dream that could never happen in the real world, I beg to differ. I have been there. I have seen it. I have experienced it. I know it can exist in this plane. This is the life I work toward every day as I struggle to find my place in this world.

As we open our hearts to love, we open ourselves to a whole different place--a whole different state of BEing. Our hearts don't come from a place of logic. Our hearts come from a place of feeling, and feeling is what manifests in the real world. The closer we come to thinking first with our hearts, the closer we come to establishing this peaceful more perfect world.

I am looking for people who also see this vision of the future. Join me?

~CSE

       

The Journey Home

We come into this 3rd dimensional world to experience the ultimate separation. Here we are separate from our surroundings, each other and even ourselves. This enables us to understand things in their individuality, increasing our insights and knowledge about how things exist.

Quite often, this state of separation comes with problems and traumas which further increase our sense of loneliness. Our journeys in this 3D world are not for the faint of heart! It takes real courage to stand firm and not become embittered by the struggle.

The irony in all this is that we are not separate. While we experience separation and often believe this is reality, we are always connected through our hearts. Love is the energy that binds us all together and makes us One, and we can find this connection any time we choose to remember it.

The ultimate lesson in life is not about functioning in separation. We are here to remember the Oneness we came from and allow it to harmonize our individual pieces so we can function in wholeness.

The journey of life is a process of exploration in which we ultimately discover our way back home.
~CSE

When Did You Stop Following Your Heart?

I have been doing a lot of self-healing work lately as part of the process of returning to purpose. One of the most valuable insights I have received thus far is identifying the moment I stopped thinking with my heart and began to think with my mind instead.

Let me explain exactly what that means. When we are born, we come out as bundles of potential. We follow our instincts. We live in the moment and experience the world around us. If we need something, we cry and make it known. We play. We experiment. We discover. We are attracted to certain people and experiences, and we seek those out. This is how our hearts function, and when we think with our hearts this is how we experience the world.

There comes a point in everyone's life where they are confronted with the processes of the mind. For some it happens in infancy. These people have almost always chosen difficult life paths. For others, it comes further down the road. The mind is the part of us that is designed to keep us safe. It takes in information from the five senses and uses memory to encode what we learn from these experiences. When a similar experience happens later down the road, we drawn on these memories to decide our next move--often something to keep us from dealing with remembered pain.

Problems come in when we allow our minds to make all the decisions and do away with the advice our hearts give us. Why is this a problem? Our hearts have been encoded with our soul purpose. When we stop listening to our hearts in favor of listening to our minds, we often forget what that purpose is. If we do this long enough, our lives become unfulfilling and meaningless.

I can pinpoint the moment I stopped relying on the advice of my heart in favor of what my mind told me to do. As a kid, I was an interesting combination of introvert and leader. I craved a lot of alone time. However, in social situations I was very much the leader. I was cute and smart and funny and people would seek me out. I was also creative and knew what I wanted to do at any given moment. Usually people would join me with whatever I decided to do in that moment. If they were left out, I would include them.

This is how I lived my life until I met a particular friend. She was fun and full of life (still is actually). However, she did not want to follow along with everything I did. I found out because I overheard something I was not supposed to hear. Ironically, as I look back at my young self, I know I never forced anyone to go along with what I wanted. I was also goody two shoes, so my suggestions didn't get people into trouble. Most people liked me enough they would go along with my suggestions. In that moment, however, I began to question my whole way of doing things. I did not want to force people to participate in things they did not care for. I stopped following what was in my own heart. I began inquiring about what other people wanted to do and would often follow along. My mind told me this was the way to make people like me. I was twelve.

There were still times throughout my life when I did follow my heart. I followed my heart when I began volunteering at a camp for abused and neglected children. I followed my heart when I chose my college and became a tour guide at church historic sites during my summer vacations. Following my heart also led me to my first professional job out of college--working as a residence counselor in a group home for emotionally disturbed children. My biggest heart-based achievement to date has been raising my children.

Still, much of my life has been dominated by mind-based decisions. During my first marriage, I was obsessed with making sure my husband was happy--to the point I did almost nothing for myself. Those things I did do for myself I allowed him to sabotage because he was not happy unless the focus was on him. The only heart-based decision I stubbornly clung to was the one involving raising my children. That decision ultimately led to my divorce. It also took so much out of me I spent years recovering. My work life has also not been particularly fulfilling. I have mainly worked jobs that supplied me with the money I needed to live on, with little else to show for them.

I will be fifty-one in two days. I have spent close to forty years listening to my heart over my mind. I am wasting no more time. I will seek out every chance to follow my heart and my bliss.

When did you stop following your heart? How will you choose to change it? When we all choose to follow the wisdom and guidance that comes from listening to our hearts, the world will be a much kinder, brighter and better place. In my view, this is what is missing from the planet.

~CSE

Standing Up In The Face Of Evil

We live in the Dark Ages. Although there are many ways we seem to be making great progress, there is still a lot of evil around us. In fact, our shadow selves have been allowed to run amok to the point where our world is seriously out of balance--almost to the precipice of total destruction. The thing is, denying evil does not make it go away. We have to acknowledge that it is in our midst and deal with it so it no longer has the power to destroy us.

I believe humanity is on the verge of waking up to this because of how blatant the corruption has become. Constant wars, terrible environmental destruction, poverty, disease and a host of other worldwide problems are starting to be identified for what they are--problems placed on us by those who would consider themselves "elite" (aka those with all the power and wealth). Deep down, we understand we cannot survive this destructive path.

For the first time in a long time, I see people waking up to the evil and taking back their innate power. If the US presidential elections are anything to go by, people are waking up in droves. In the Republican party, the chosen candidate (Trump) was fought against by party establishment tooth and nail until it was apparent he was too popular to deny the nomination to. This is why, for all intents and purposes, the Bush family and their underlings have refused to support this nomination and would not even attend the convention. It's also why they have at least all hinted at their support for Hillary Clinton. I recently saw a quote from George W. Bush saying he was afraid he would be the last Republican president! The party is definitely changing, and I believe it is because people finally understand our country cannot survive if we continue down our present path.

In the Democratic party, people are also beginning to wake up and stand up. While I understand the annointed candidate, Hillary Clinton, does have some legitimate support, she does not have the support the media would lead people to believe. Besides co-opting pretty much all of the super delegates from the beginning, there have been numerous reports of voter fraud and other problems all over the country. When Bernie can fill stadiums and Hillary has trouble filling a high school gymnasium, you cannot tell me Hillary has a legitimate claim to the throne. The media may fluff it over, but anyone with eyes that wants to see truth can see it.

The thing is, until we are willing to stand up in our power and claim the victory, evil will continue to rule. The Republican Party has been reclaimed. No it is not perfect by any means. Yes, things still need to change. Democrats need to do the same thing at the convention and stand up to party leaders and force them to accept Bernie as the nominee. Otherwise, the current powers that be have won and nothing will change.

Until we are willing to recognize our shadow selves and acknowledge them, the darkness will continue to be much more powerful. Until we are willing to stand in the face of evil and intentionally reclaim our own power, we cannot expect the outside world to change. It is up to each and every one of us to make that difference.

~CSE

  

Beyond Politics

Here in the US, presidential politics are as ugly as I have ever seen them. Everyone (myself included) has been trying to argue why the other candidates are unworthy to hold office. The worst part is, our politics have gotten so bad we are now attributing terrible evils to not only the candidates themselves but also to the people who would vote for those candidates. It is time to take a good, hard look at this practice. We are allowing the powers that be to divide us even farther by seeing our fellow humans as evil because they would vote a certain way. This needs to stop!

Let's take a look at Donald Trump. He's egotistical. His morals are lacking. He's harsh and gruff and often has a case of foot-in-mouth disease. He promotes separation by his talk of building a wall along the Mexican border and his scrutiny of Islamic immigrants to the US. The memes I've seen on Facebook about him are terrible. People equate him to Hitler. They believe those who want to vote for him are mindless, brainwashed sheeple who themselves will go along with acts of separation and evil in the name of safety. One question: is this true?

Let's take a look at Hillary Clinton. She flip flops on the issues over time. She's deceptive and will say anything to anyone if it will get her elected. Her handling of Benghazi leaves many more questions than answers. Her personal email server problem at best makes her look incompetent. At worst, it makes her look criminal. Many people believe she thirsts for war. We're perhaps easiest on her supporters, seeing them as easily fooled and naive.

Let's take a look at Bernie Sanders. He's considered a socialist whose ideas for change would bankrupt the country with all his freebie handouts. (Newsflash: the US is already bankrupt!) He is considered clueless with ideas that would never work by his opposition and his supporters are seen as lazy kids and welfare recipients who are already living on taxpayer dollars.

Let me pose this question: what would actually happen when one of these three get in? Will the world stop spinning? Will we begin to lock up our Moslem brothers and sisters because of their religion? We will go to war with Syria or Iran and watch our children be sacrificed? Will our country become so bankrupt that we have to fight each other in the streets for scraps of food because our economy has totally collapsed?

The answers to these questions lie within each one of us. Who are we inside and how will we choose to deal with the problems that will inevitably show up? The outcomes of our lives are not determined by who becomes president. What shows up will be the result of who we are as people.

Can a president force us into war? No. We can stand up against it. Can a president round people up into concentration camps based on race or religion or political affiliation? No. We have the power to join together and stand up for our own rights and the rights of others. Will our country's bankruptcy force us to fight for survival? No. We still have the ability to distribute necessary food and supplies if there is a problem with money. The point is, a president can lead us in a certain direction, but it is our choice to actually go there.

We need to begin to search inside for who we truly are. Are we love? Are we peace? Are we joy? If something outside ourselves is not congruent with this, it is up to us to fix it. The only way to change the world is to BE the change!

Allow yourself to see beyond politics! Know yourself. See your neighbors for who they truly are--beautiful beings of light and love who also desire to live in peace and abundance. If we choose to do this, our world will change for the better.

~CSE

     

Be The Flame

I heard the news that a brilliant warrior of light passed away yesterday. His life was one of tremendous pain and suffering, but somehow he managed to survive to shine a light on some of the world's worst darkness. Because of his revelations, evil had to regroup as secret deeds became much less secret. Awareness brings vigilance. We became better at anticipating hidden attacks. His loss is a setback for the forces of light. While I know his energy lives on, there is an emptiness on this physical plane as we deal with his loss.

In the conflict of light versus darkness, there are times when the darkness wins. Understand this is a temporary condition. Give and take is the nature of all conflict. It is one battle of many. Do not succumb to the thought the war is over. This is just a brief setback.

Every one of us has the ability to take matters into our own hands and become the matchstick. We can all be the source of reigniting the light again. When forces attempt to extinguish your fire, become the match. BE the flame!

~CSE

Are You Ready For The Changes

There is a situation that has affected a number of my old high school friends involving a church and its pastor. The pastor of this megachurch has effectively been fired because of problems with alcoholism. If this is his only problem, it makes me a little sad. What strikes me with even greater force, however, is the thought that this is just the beginning. We are entering a time in history when our problems are going to be unveiled at a much more rapid pace. I feel it important to ask you this question: are you ready for the changes?

Our world is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. We live in a very false world--one where great evil lurks behind a facade of sunshine and goodness. As a conspiracy theorist, I have been dealing with such revelations for several years and have had time to adjust to the process. The thing is, understanding the world is not what you thought it was has big consequences. For me personally, it began a process where my whole world crumbled before my eyes. Nothing was "real" anymore as I began to understand the depth of the deception. I have literally had to rebuild my world from the ground up, and that has not been an easy process. It has taken years for me to feel like I have a firm foundation to stand on once again.

I do believe there is a benefit to some of us taking this journey before the majority of people on the planet. Because we understand the process and know where we stand, we can act as anchors for the rest of humanity when the big chips begin to fall. Conspiracy theorists are here to help keep people calm and focused on the solutions. 

There is no doubt in my mind that this is a huge calling. Even those of us who believe we know a lot more than the average person are going to be shocked at times. There are going to be moments when the raging storms will threaten to unmoor us. Still, if we are able to hang in there with a vision of what our world could become, we will be okay. We will make our world beautiful again!

Hold on tight, folks. It's about to get really stormy. Have you made the preparations necessary so that you will remain standing in the end?

~CSE

      

Love Is Infinite

Love is all around us. Love is not limited to time and place. Love has no boundaries. Love is always present. That said, in our imperfection we are not always aware of love. We let things like anger, and jealousy, and differences get in the way.

It is time to remember who you are. You ARE love! Remember love's infinite possibilities! Allow yourself to see past your own limitations. Love has no limits. Love is infinite!

~CSE

Overcoming Corruption Depends On Love!

The USA is once again being predictably programmed. We were all up in arms against our very corrupt government showing out regarding Hillary's obvious criminality and her lack of prosecution by those in power. Then all of a sudden we have a police shooting in Baton Rouge and an ambush of police in Dallas. No more prosecute Hillary stories. No more anger with our government. It's all about racial tension, violence and fighting among ourselves. Folks, this is the pattern! This is how they keep us from taking back our own power and taking control!

Stop taking sides against your fellow humans! These people are your family, your friends, your neighbors. They want the same things you want--comfortable homes, food on the table, good relationships, the ability to live their lives in freedom. These people are not the enemy! The enemy is ignorance, and hype, and division.

As long as we are fighting each other, we are not concerned with how our country is being run behind the scenes. We could care less that pretty much every politician in DC is corrupt! We ignore the fact they grow wealthy catering to the desires of those who operate behind closed doors. They flaunt their corruption in our faces because they know we are too apathetic to pay attention to their crimes as we hunt down our fellow man.

If we are to overcome those who consider themselves "elite" and hold them accountable for their crimes, we must first embrace our neighbors in love. We cannot hope to have the power to lock these criminals away until we have the ability to stand together in common purpose. Divide and Conquer is the method they have used to take control and keep our power for thousands of years. Love is the force that will unify us to the point we can take our personal power back!

Choose to reach out to your neighbors in love! Talk to them. Get to know them. Share a common meal. Make sure their needs are met. As we break down all barriers that separate us, we are able to come together for common purpose. We can make our world beautiful again when we choose love over separation.

Be the change you wish to see in the world! BE love!

~CSE

  

Calling All Empaths

Are you one of those extra-sensitive people who literally carry the weight of the world on your shoulders? I have a message for you! Your higher purpose begins now. It is time to join with your fellow empaths and BE the healer you came into the world to be!

There is a reason you were given the gift of sensitivity in this heavy third-dimensional world. Empaths are the first people to understand problems exist. This is because empaths are highly aware of feelings, and feelings are the language of the heart--the place of connection to the divine and the source of all knowledge and wisdom. Empaths are the first to feel and identify the heaviness and pain in a situation, hence problem awareness.

Empaths are natural problem solvers. When we feel pain, anger, sadness, etc. we are the first to ask why and look for ways to fix it. Because we are in tune with our hearts, it becomes easy to ask questions that lead to real heart-based solutions. Our feelings help us identify the best path to take in a given situation.

You feel the pain of the planet and her inhabitants. You have felt it building to a peak for years. The pain, anger, and frustration are almost unbearable now. There is growing awareness among the masses that something needs to be done about our problems. They are trying to come up real world solutions. The problem is, the solutions less sensitive people come up with are based on the understandings of the mind. As the mind does not have direct access to the knowledge of the divine, the solutions that come from the mind are extremely limited. Sometimes they can even cause more problems than they solve.

Let me give you a real world example. Gun control is a raging debate here in the United States. One side believes that guns are bad things that people need to be saved from. Their solutions are to either take guns away altogether or limit gun ownership to people who can pass very rigorous background checks. While I don't believe either of these arguments are "bad", I do believe they are limited. Criminals are not likely to follow such rules. Consequently, you haven't really solved anything, including gun violence.

On the other side of the argument are the people who tout the "right to bear arms". Again, I don't believe this is "bad" in and of itself. There are people in the world who wish to physically harm us or take away our possessions. I can also see the argument that a government out-of-control could seek to take away the last of our freedom through force. Guns can be used for defense of life and property. Still, is being allowed to own a gun solving any problem? No. Crime still exists.

What is the solution? My heart tells me that people need to be provided for. They need food, water, shelter, clothing. They need comfort, security and love. If people can learn to work together to help each being obtain these things, they have no need to fight among themselves. The solution to gun control does not lie in the guns themselves. It lies in teaching people to live with integrity. It lies in learning to cooperate instead of compete. It lies in seeking the ways of the heart.

This is why you are so important as an empath. You are tuned in to the ways of the heart. Your compassion is unmatched. Your understanding of the world's problems is second to none. Your sensitivities have called you to the work of healing a broken and dying planet. You, as an empath, are here to change the world! Allow yourself to join together with your fellow empaths and begin the work you were called to do.

~CSE

    

Grow Some Balls And Stand Up To The Corruption!

I am angry! I am angry at blatant government corruption. I'm angry when I see politicians pass laws that literally hand taxpayer money to transnational corporations while our people are starving. I am angry at manipulated elections where only the chosen candidates are placed in office. If these candidates are not actually voted on through the ignorance of the people, the vote will be rigged in any and every way possible to ensure victory of the status quo. I am angry at an owned media, who uses nothing but lies and propaganda to brainwash We the People into believing everything is still fair and free. Mostly though, I am angry at my fellow citizens, who by this time have felt so much pain they know something is wrong but if they even choose to acknowledge it publicly they don't have the balls to do more than vote (which is friggin' rigged anyway)! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I have a message for We the People! Grow some damn balls and stand up to the corruption! 

Voting is not going to reflect the will of the people until we can stand up as one against the manipulations and put a stop to them! Protest computer voting until the proprietary and patented black boxes used in the process are opened, inspected and the code gone over with a fine-tooth comb to make sure votes are counted accurately and for the person We the People honestly choose! Appoint citizen groups to stand over the vote counting process and make sure that all votes arrive at the counting location, no box is overlooked or thrown out, and no other irregularities happen. All political parties must be represented in this process as well as an independent group for control.

We the People need to be willing to read the leaked files that tell of blatant corruption of political officials. (Wikileaks is a good place to start!) We need to gather the information up into petitions signed by thousands of people that are then taken to the alphabet agencies who are supposed to protect us so they will be empowered to act on that information. There are people in these agencies who would like to do something about this corruption, but they do not feel they have the support of We the People backing them up and are afraid of the personal repercussions if not enough of us are willing to hold politicians' feet to the fire.

The fact of the matter is this: there are millions (billions even) of us and not so many of them. When we are willing to stand up to the establishment as one, there is absolutely no way they can stand against us. They already know this. That is why they have worked so hard to make us believe that everything is still on the up-and-up. That's why they own their media propaganda machine. That's why they pay off politicians and sometimes even kill people who are not willing to play their game.

If the world is going to change, We the People, have got to stand up and take responsibility for ourselves and work for change! We can no longer afford to sit back and allow things to happen to us. That's how the corruption became so ingrained in our system in the first place! It is our own apathy that has been our downfall.

It is time to grow some balls and stand up to the corruption! Until we choose to do this, we will continue to wallow in the filth and muck that slowly kills us all. Choose life! Be bold! Together, we will make a difference!!!

~CSE

There are MORE of us than there are of them! STAND AS ONE!!!

Playing Small

I've spent most of my life living under the radar. I typically don't like to put myself out there in any real way, mainly because I'm afraid of getting hurt. Consequently, my life has been ordinary, run-of-the-mill for the most part. The thing is, I don't feel particularly fulfilled. While I am extremely happy with the job I did as mother to my three beautiful children, the raising kids part of my life is pretty much over. Playing small served me well as a single parent because it also protected my children, but it's time to move on. What strikes me now (and is even coming out in my dreams) is that playing small was a choice. If I want to change my life, it is going to involve risk. I need to make a conscious choice to step out and play big if I want to make any real impact on the world.

I know I am not alone in my struggle. So many of us run our daily lives on a hamster wheel, running really hard and getting absolutely nowhere. We understand there is a lot more world to explore outside the cage. We are just so comfortable inside the cage--where we know to expect food, shelter and warmth--that we are afraid to risk escape. We never make the decision to explore the world outside the cage.

The thing is, playing small never helped anyone. It hasn't helped others because I have not been using my gifts and talents as fully as I could to change myself and the world. My attempts have been mere shadows of what I have inside because of my fear of pain. Playing small certainly hasn't helped me feel fulfilled either. I know I have so much more inside me, screaming to break free.

Your playing small hasn't helped you either. What gifts and talents have you neglected? What changes could you have made that could have impacted the world in a bigger and more meaningful way? What holds you back from the life of your dreams?

Understand that it is never too late to change. Change is a choice. Even though it is different--even though you know change could bring pain--you have to consciously be willing to risk pain in order to attain something more.

Playing small never helped anyone, especially yourself. Make the choice to allow yourself to move past fear and use the gifts and talents you were given. You'll never know what role you can play in the world if you don't pluck up the courage to try. You may just find yourself living the life of your dreams!

~CSE