How we perceive events, experiences and people fundamentally shape the way that we view ourselves and our place in the world.  Today we'll be looking at ways to shift our perceptions, and actually gaining a more realistic view of life experiences and what they mean to and about us.

There is an old song that says, "Make someone happy".  This can be a wonderful thing, unless it is at the expense of empowerment.  Today we'll be exploring pathways to empowerment that, while often dark and unpleasant, can be tremendously transformative and empowering.  Sometimes the best thing you can do to help someone find their power and balance is to understand where they are, hold them with compassion then show that you believe in them enough to let them stand on their own.

From our homes and hearts to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!  Here in the United States, today is traditionally a day to acknowledge the people, things and events in our lives for which we are grateful.  While the history of this country is filled with many dynamic and contorversial perspectives, today we'll be celebrating some of the often overlooked blessings in our lives.  From the breath we take, the challenges we face to those in our lives that we often miss oportunities to acknowledge.  For this episode, the chat room will be open through the episode only. Also, I will be bringing in producer Kyna to talk about an amazing way to give to some special spirits who are often forgotten.

In the minds of many, one of the greatest gifts that humanity carries is the freedom to choose.  While we can't control all of what happens to us, we can have choice around how we respond to it.  Whether it is choosing a spiritual practice, a political viewpoint, a mate, a sandwhich or any one of an infinite number of choices, we should claim not just the right, but the obligation to direct our own life journey.  Today, we'll be looking at ways that we might fall into surrenduring our freewill and how we can truly be the masters of our own fates.

How often in life do we find ourselves wishing to let go of something only to find that we're not quite done with it.  What holds us?  What do we need to do in order to close that chapter in our lives?  Today, we'll be exploring the possibility of creating a process that can allow a release of what no longer serves you and let it become what it was meant to be...a lesson that can move you forward rather than hold you back.

What if you were given the last rose on Earth to care for?  Would you leave it in the dark neglected?  Overwater it until it drowned? Or would you nurture it, learn everything you can about it and insure that it and all it's progeny not just survive but thrive?  Today's episode will explore how we define caring for something that is the only one of it's kind...you!  Do you treat yourself as if you understand that you are the only you that there is in the world?

Today many of us are preparing for one of the most magical nights of the year for the young and young at heart...Halloween!  It is a night of magic, mystery, trick, treats and most of all costumes.  For most, it is the one day of the year that we give ourselves permission to embrace being someone else.  Today, we'll be looking at what it is that we gain from occassionally letting ourselves play make believe and how it can often lead us to our true selves.

Often, the process of living our lives seems to be a balancing act between cosmic or divine intervention and personal choice and responsibility.  On one end of the spectrum is the concept that we create our own realities (including the truly unpleasant parts!) and at the other end is the belief that all we have to do is ask and the Universe will gladly give us anything we want. The challenge can be that we become attached to what our desired outcome should be, to the point of passing up a clear gift because we don't like the wrapping paper. Today, we'll be looking at this relationship and how we can partner with cosmic forces to achieve our dreams and goals while at the same time being open to receiving something unexpected but even better for us.

What would your life be like if you knew that every choice that you made was the right choice? Often, we decide if a choice was right or wrong based on the immediate results and if we find them pleasant or unpleasant. On today's show we'll be exploring choices, consequences and how we can find balance through acceptance of the concept that the results are neither good or bad...they just are.

Since producer Kyna is not with us today, I'll be opening the chatroom at the end of the show.

"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad."  C.S. Lewis

As with all things, a shell carries the capacity for both light and shadow.  What begins as an invaluable protection can become a hardened, unyielding prison.  Today we'll be exploring how to identify then break through the barriers that may no longer serve us.