Intuitively, it certainly seems like a contemplative life in stressful times is a good thing. But, like any practice, it takes a certain level of commitment and is, of course, a process. Many would argue that there is no panacea or a “one size fits all” which I would agree. But, in my experience with trauma there is, at a minimum, an 'orientation to the task’ that is useful. By that I mean, a philosophy or context of a way to BE in the world - as a starting point. For example, that we are spiritual beings trapped in a psychological reality. This specific orientation (and there are many others) implies that ‘what’ we are contemplating is a ‘corrective’ return to our authentic self. Innerlivesmatter teaches that coming home to this authenticity restores a symbiotic relationship with an inner guidance system that not only benefits us but also society.

It has been my experience that spiritual growth is an endless process of suffering the ego awake. Said differently, healing the past so the we can fully live in the present. There are very specific moments of adversity that will slowly melt the ego’s defenses. Dissolving the ego is necessary because most of us are unaware that 'the way’ we chose to protect ourselves is often outdated. By this I mean that the ego operates out of the past with habitual thoughts and emotions with little understanding of how to arrive to a state of presence. This is the core of spiritual work. But, if we apply compassion to its resistance, the ego will soften its grip on the past. Overtime, it learns that with every incident of illumination and moment of presence there is also the experience of real freedom. Tune in for more...

Research shows that another person’s moods are as easy to catch as their germs. Spiritual folks tend to call this ‘negative energy’ which is a little inaccurate. It is only negative if you are unprepared to 'catch’ or absorb it. There are ways to insulate yourself but, this takes practice. Importantly, the protection is grounded in ‘where’ you are internally at the time.

Did you know that 1 in every 113 people on the planet is now a refugee. That means that 44,000 people are displaced every day, or one person every three seconds. UNICEF reported in 2016 that nearly 50 million children were uprooted that year. The stress that accompanies being displaced or relocated is social isolation. Loneliness and reintegration causes PTSD. At the family level, the loss of parents, siblings and relatives have the most devastating effect on children and teenagers. *Listen for more of the Camino Del Alma minute....

Young people need to learn that a person’s inner life forms the foundation for their external journey NOT the reverse. It dictates the choices they make and determines their direction. Essentially, the relationship they’re having with themselves influences their connection with others. Despite this important truth, the culture is still not helping them to understand that these unique navigational abilities though available, have to be discovered. Unfortunately, young people are gaining insight by random chance or even worse through post traumatic experiences. Listen to how one begins to have an inner life.

Kirsten Powers, USA Today: Depressed and suicidal - something is wrong with our culture. What if the truth is that our culture is ill-prepared for the dis-ease of what it means to be human. The people that are taking their lives, just like the shooters in our schools, are the extreme of an undercurrent that has gotten worse in the past three decades. In short, human beings develop a psychospiritual void if their inner lives are ignored.

What is the definition of evil? Typically, it is considered profoundly immoral behavior with other synonyms like wicked, bad, wrong, and sinful. The opposite or antonym for evil is, of course, good or virtuous. So, there it is… evil is a moral judgment that labels behavior as wicked or sinful. But, what about ethics. It turns out that ethics refer broadly to moral principles and represent a larger context. I would argue that it is the context for moral behavior that has become blurry and confusing.

Most of us were taught in school that metaphors were poetic or rhetorical tools. Our innerlivesmatter because metaphor is how the soul observes and teaches us context. It does this by helping us to see the larger picture, something the ego is usually incapable of doing until it awakens—if ever. Everyone knows that a picture is worth 1000 words, metaphor is why.

Individuals suffering with addiction are more than their demons or wounds. In other words, they are more than their egos. A psychospiritual context espouses this absolute: addicts (just like you and I) are spiritual beings forced to resolve a psychological existence. Perfect in their imperfections, they have yet to learn that their dis-ease is self-correcting in nature, which is true for every human being. This does not have to be stigmatized, but rather embraced with compassion. In other words, we (and addicts) need to be suffered awake. While the debate raves on that addiction is a brain disease, we are missing the co-occurring problem that addiction is accompanied by significant psychological dis-ease.

I think it’s safe to say that to be connected to one’s inner life doesn’t begin to capture the depth of a lifetime commitment to spiritual growth. But...there is a single focus one can use as a beginning. By that I mean, living an ethical or compassionate existence versus one that is ego-driven. This would be no small deal. You can wait for a wake-up moment like trauma or you can take the accumulative adversity that has been your life and--awaken to it. Either way, spiritual evolution is considered to be the first and most important step during one’s inner journey. Though there are no shortcuts – there is an orientation to the task that is sorely missing in the culture. That orientation is one of self-realization.