Everyone gathered from far and wide last night. We even had someone join us last minute - who just happened to notice we had a cancellation (it was only posted on the web for a couple of hours - synchronicity calling!).

It's such a great feeling when everyone gathers. Sitting together in the space. Everyone committed to going deep - past the mind chatter and deep into feelings. Transcending the density and moving into presence. What's totally awesome being the guide, is to literally feel people doing that all around you, which accelerates the energy in the room.

And I could feel people tuning in from far and wide too. The place was buzzing with energy.

Today, we'll be getting into Openhand's 'spiritual compass' approach. It's a way of looking at the often conflicting impulses that go on inside. There's the mainstream of the soul yearning for expression of higher beingness. But at various points in ones field, for various reasons, fragments of the soul detach and form eddy currents of identity. Perhaps due to relationship, a living environment or the challenges of career. Thus a false self is formed from the collation of these internal eddy currents. We create a life from them which doesn't fully serve.

The first part of the compass involves moving into a place of 'open mind'. It means exploring these internal thoughts and feelings as the Observer of yourself, but without judging yourself for what happens. You may have formed some kind of addiction for example. The first part to unwinding the attachment, is just to watch yourself in it, without retracting in self blame.

It's not your fault!

Such attachment and conditioning is replicating the universal process of light breaking into and through darkness. There's a 'twilight' period where it's neither light nor dark. But there are blind spots, where there's lack of awareness. So it is with the soul coming into being. At times it gets lost. The cure for this is increasing awareness. But self judgment and blame decreases awareness because it takes one into mind chatter. Therefore accepting the distortion is crucial - moving into a place of non-judgment. This is 'open mind'.

You can do it simply by sitting in stillness and reflecting on the places in your life, during the previous year, where you get tight, angry, frustrated, worried or tense. Or else where you might turn to some kind of substance for solace (like alcohol or binge eating). What do you feel in these instances? See the situations in your mind's eye, feel into the feelings. But then crucially, rather than contracting down and feeling small, work to expand through them.

When you can do this, the heart begins to open, which you can accelerate by expanding into the five senses - touch, sight, hearing, taste, smell. Because we're not judging the world and what goes on, it frees up consciousness to feel life more. It means you start to build joy of living from the simplest of things. And most important of all, you start to pick up the natural flow of life more strongly. You feel more connected and alive. So this part of the compass we call 'open heart'.

You can practice this by taking a walk in nature for example. Take some time out and try this six senses walk approach.

We'll be sure to be doing that today.

Wishing everyone well - thanks for tuning in - you are felt and most welcome!

Open