I have continued to set intention every morning by writing words on a piece of birch bark and then placing it in the hot fire of the wood stove. I always watch the bark until it is completely burned away. During this time I allow space for any opportunity created through that transformation.

It has been interesting to see how the words I choose have evolved over the last five days. I’ve moved from “release negative pain habits” to  “transform negative energy” on one side of the bark. On the other side I’ve moved from “make room for new roles” to  “open to a Bigger Life”. I am realizing that the two things go together. Once I release even a small amount of negativity, I am freeing that energy to go other places.

Throughout the day, I’ve started asking, “What would it be like if there was just a little more positive energy in my life?”. Taking a moment to feel my energy when I say this is like a mini-meditation. I put down whatever energy I am holding, in that moment, and feel a little more openness.

I can see that “negative pain habits” are really just the outcome of functioning through my ego. Recall that the ego itself is not a bad thing. Ego is the manifestation of our physical presence, it is the body through which we experience the Physical World. It is a gift. But when I allow my ego to choose my actions, I will be limited to the me-first part of human living that craves approval.

The true purpose of the ego is to carry out the choices made by Spirit. And now I see that that is what I am writing on the other side of the birch bark: Open Up. Opening means that I am transcending the boundaries of ego, of the five sense world, and experiencing myself in the broader context of Space, of All That Is. This is a spiritual connection.

Universal Wisdom:* Spirit wants to transcend––that is its purpose. Transcending fulfills its purpose. Many humans sense that their physical beings want to expand. They have been crushed into a small space by cultural learning. What they want is more space. They want to expand and allow more energy to enter the space between matter. 

This is what is happening when I stop to practice just a little more positive energy––I am expanding. Expanding feels good. It feels right. It is the place I want to be. It is worth practicing.

*Traveling Light, p.74