The journey from where we are to where we want to be does not have to be arduous or riddled with stress. In fact it can be a gentle expansion into more of everything we want for ourselves and even more that we have not even thought about yet.

Are you ready to move rapidly forward in your life? Are you ready to reach for your dreams with conviction and commitment so that they really happen for you? Are you ready to be, do and have those things you have always hoped for but often wondered if they were really possible for you?

We all talk a good game.

A Conscious Creator is anyone who accepts responsibility for the creation of his or her own reality. Instead of blaming, justifying or complaining they make choices, focus their attention and express their feelings.

They may practice the art of appreciation by spending more time noticing what is going well for them and less time worrying about problems and difficulties.

We learn many things growing up - some of them are useful, and some get us into messes we can't figure out. For many of us, the journey to healthy loving relationships started out upside down and backwards. We learned to focus our attention on other people before we knew and loved our own self. The truth is that never works. There are three arenas that require our attention not just one.

There are so many parts to the self. Often we have aspects that seem to be direct opposites. The responsible self and the carefree one, the introverted, quiet self and the extraverted, expressive self, the strong and the vulnerable. None of the selves are better or worse than others although we often judge them so.

While visiting the island of Santorini, in Greece - one of my most favorite places in the world - my friend; an artist, entertainer and visionary decided to take the name Apollo for his own.

False ideas about ourselves, when unexamined, undermine our happiness. They keep us from creating fulfilling relationships and satisfying careers. Without knowing what is happening we live within the constraints that surrounded us when we were children. And outgrowing our original conditioning; stepping beyond these early limitations to embrace our futures with enthusiasm -- well these are some of the greatest challenges we all face.

When I was young I realized that I looked at the world from a different perspective. Early on this caused me trouble and for a period of time I kept quiet about what I saw and denied my own understanding. I kept my ideas to myself and wrote my observations in a private diary rather than speaking them out loud to many people.
Then I began meeting people who wanted to hear my view on things.

I have a great dentist. He is current, caring and he does not use mercury. But that does not change the fact that for some of us being in the dentists chair can be stressful! This is especially true if you are sensitive to anesthetic like I am. Pump me up with adrenaline and I start leaving my body. I am not kidding. All of my life force rises and starts exiting out the crown of my head.

Sometimes it amazes and frustrates me how much I don't know. And sometimes the fact that there is so much to learn inspires and motivates me to grow. With all the studying and reading and training I have done I am still aware of many gaps in my education. These gaps show up in all areas of my life where I have not reached my full potential and I know it.

About a year ago I introduced a ritual writing day at the beach into my weekly schedule. With a desire to establish balance and to blend work with play I wanted to create a very specific kind of personal replenishment. With an increase in my work commitments I knew I needed to tune out from the activities of my daily life in a way that allowed me to deliberately tune in to the flow of energy I knew was available for me on the inside.

If you are like most people you do not want to miss a thing. You sense there is much joy to be had in life and you want it. Of course you do! And yet there seems to be a shortage of hours in the day. It is not that we are incapable of fitting it all in. In fact, many of us run around crazily trying to cram in as much activity as possible. It is just that there are different parts of us vying for our time and attention.