How might I ripple and radiate out from the closest, most interior circles to the nether regions of the universe as an ever more welcoming, beaming, and loving presence?

I am so grateful for this miraculous life. I can't explain exactly how I've been thrust into such an evocative and openhearted place of gratitude exactly, but wow, am I feeling open, sunny, and joyful, and just so totally appreciative of the wonder of this all.

What if we were joyful simply just because? We all know the feeling of our hearts spilling over with joy. Can you imagine feeling this way all the time, or at least believing you could feel this way at any given time?

The love I'm talking about here is pure and contingency-free. I like to imagine this love as an ever-flowing fountain, bursting with warmth, kindness, and compassion from each one of our hearts.

I won't pretend to sit here and know exactly how you should go about seizing the day and loving your sparkling, precious life. Only you know what thrills and depresses you, and so much of this comes from tapping the seriously-wise voice inside.

Who isn't afraid of change? True, some of us have more fear of instability than others. But when you really get down to it, we are all shaken up when the movement inherent to change occurs.

Remember that the more you lean out, the more you tweet and seek and stretch to find another like you, there is a very deserving beautiful creature waiting and calling for your friendship too, and that creature is you.

We are so often cut off, bewildered by, and stranded from spirit in our suffering-prone, rampant minds, that coming to experience spirit out in the world is at first more accessible than experiencing it inside.

Simply put, I define spiritual practice as something you do every single day that draws you deeper into who you really are, by connecting you with your divine self.

It is so vital to take the time once in a while to give shout outs to these lights, these beacons that have palpably made our lives and often many other lives around them better. Let them know just how pivotal they are to you, and that the world just wouldn't be the same without them.

Whether you are struck by a lone shoot pushing through the cracks in pavement, the runt tree on your block, the intermittent flow of rain, the seeming forest of the park, the night sky, or the fallen leaves, please let nature be your teacher and think deliberately on these things.

Norman Fischer says, "Life comes and goes. Life comes and goes very quickly. We don't need to worry so much." When in doubt, find your footing in change. Instead of fighting the current, take cue, and for once in your life, flow downstream.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if instead of shocking us, kindness was just plain regular, something we all shared and spread around freely, and that we all took time to celebrate along the way?

To meet, manifest, or fulfill our dreams, we must accept where and who we are today. Life dreams are not hallucinations or fantasies that thrust us out of the present moment, but are instead about living in ultimate alignment with the truth of who we are in the present moment.

Buddha said, "If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change." Why wait to tap into and express your true self?

Most of the time, it feels incredibly hard to access any inkling of a state of calm, and this assumed difficulty means that most of us have given calm up for impossible. We simply don't know how to make the space for another way of being.

Each pregnancy is different. For me this one in particular has been about unweaving and sweeping out some of the most nagging and difficult thought patterns and threads of my early life.

I cannot in my own good conscience merely write about truth, awakening, supreme peace, or presence. I must live in alignment with my very noble notions. I must personally live out and percuss with my pleas for a more enlightened way of being. In other words, I must walk my talk.

Today, I entreat you, even if things are flowing beautifully, practice relaxing yourself from head to toe in the midst of your intense on-the-ball focus, and consciously melt deeper into gentle ease with each breath.

How do you deal with and feel about change? There are those change junkies out there who can't stop seeking the newest, most thrilling, most different thing around the bend. Then there are their opposites. Where do you fall along this spectrum?

What's amazing is that when we consciously release our misery-inducing, controlling ways, we feel better! By this I mean, freer, more at ease, relaxed, and reassured in a manner that can only come from profoundly letting go.

There are no prerequisites for experiencing stillness. Nor is finding this kind of inner quiet exclusive to serious meditators or those who call themselves spiritual.