I'm recording this in December 2023 in a time of reflection. This is a time

where I begin to think about the next year, 2024, which is when you, gentle listener, are listening,

hello, happy New Year, happy Gregorian New Year.

This is one of like three or four New Year's

that humans celebrate.

But it isn't really truly new unless we decide to make it so. Otherwise it's just another day.

It's just another morning, afternoon, evening. Just another day with the same habits and beliefs and

responses and actions and cycles that will find ourselves in if we're not

conscious reflection

and more specifically, reflection through the lens of the heart and the truth,

i.e. like what is true for us without distortion. These are ingredients that can help us to

begin to change our beliefs, which are our thoughts and our

habits and our patterns and our energy and our orientation and when we start doing that then life things days can start to feel

new and I really have to underscore this honesty bit. We've got to be honest with ourselves, not in a punitive way or a cruel way, you know?

We give so many people around us grace.

So many times, we forgive and we pardon someone's actions. I would put forth that's

40% of being a human or a huge amount, a huge percentage of being in relationship is just

forgiving and letting something go and forgiving and giving people grace and

giving people space and giving people help and support and love. More rarely though, do many of us give ourselves the same

grace, the same forgiveness, the same pardoning, the same space. And so that love, that compassion and that honesty, that's the blend we need when we are

wanting our reflections to be fruitful.

When we listen through the compassionate heart, the infinite source of love and also a really strong source of seeing.

...