Soft implies hard, deep implies shallow and yes, darkness implies light. Challenge, when observed with proper care is nothing but a form of friction. Friction forms heat. Heat means life. We try to avoid pain, we try to walk away from challenge, and yet, it seems, no matter how much we try, challenge seems to find its way to our center. We try and practice stillness, we retreat, fold back and isolate ourselves from painful situations. And again, if we observe these actions closely, this motion of withdrawal, eventually, makes us numb, frozen. The heart knows what the mind chooses...

We treat judges with respect, we pride ourselves with being good judges of character. Judging and judgment it seems, is held as a virtue, as a valuable profession to be embraced. However, living in judgment is actually carrying quite a severe sentence. We know not to judge a book by its cover and understand the implication of the reflective nature of the judging gesture, and yet, we are consumed by it. We judge left and right, we seem to look at life and our surroundings through the lens of a harsh critic. But what is it that appeals to us so...

Dedicated to my friend and teacher Carioca Freitas in celebration of his 61st Birthday! Thank you for teaching by example and being a source of inspiration to so many. Viva PoimPoim! Walking the path of spirit, choosing to embrace our darkness and light as we transform and heal, is a lifelong journey. It is a mysterious voyage into unknown realms of consciousness. It is the story of our evolution and the slow progression into self-love. Once we start walking, there is no turning back. With every step, a wider view appears before our eyes. A deeper sense of understanding of who...

"Kai, I have a question. I've been attending and working with personal growth workshops for over twenty years. I've shifted my perspective on some things, healed emotional charge on other things, come to acceptance of people and their way of being... (Am still integrating acceptance of self-truth be told), and yet...  Tonight I came home from a workshop and wonder... do we ever really change? Is it a matter of changing, or accepting? I used to think that growth came as a result of self-awareness, self-acceptance, and then catching ourselves as we "almost" slipped into past patterned behaviors and changing...

Often, in walking a spiritual path, we feel discouraged, fearful or scared. There are so many what ifs. So many moments of uncertainty. In facing our challenges, we often react or respond in ways we wish we wouldn’t have or probably shouldn’t. We judge who we are in relation to our own ideals and habitually chart a plan for course correction. We do after all wish to become better. And yes, even if it is in trying to become better at not trying to become better, or change, or desire desire-less-ness. We are, as long as we live, in a...