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Make a list of the top ten new things on the planet you would most like to experience. We relax into life, yet we are engaged because of the newness. These two ingredients, novelty and play, are a recipe for stress relief. Seemingly elusive and much sought, relief from the daily grind and its stress is worth a bit of effort. They can be large or small experiences, from visiting the pyramids to trying the newest coffee drink, but aim for half or more to be accessible on a daily basis. Why are these experiences important to you? Make a vow to yourself that you will do at least one of those things daily for the next week. Which experience will you focus your attention on today? What step can you take now to move closer to making that happen? Next, outline what step would follow the first step. Do you need to prepare anything or just do it? What are the rest of the steps to make that experience happen for you? Commit now to taking these steps, following through in ways that will propel you to live new, novel, engaging experiences. I allow these experiences to flow forth from my endless supply of potential experiences. Begin to plan your next fresh experience soon after your first. Prioritizing novelty and excitement in your life keeps you engaged and joyful. Fresh moments ignite the senses. 
Ever Decreasing Circles
I love myself totally, completely, and unconditionally. Deep inside you lies a treasure trove of goodness as well as a shadow side. It is time for you to know yourself, your true self. No more pretenses and false fronts. No shame or worry about who you really are. To know yourself is to know the divine. You are a sacred, beautiful being worthy of respect, kindness, love, and all good things. Your shadow self is the part of you that stays hidden away for nobody to see. Occasionally, you might catch a glimpse of it in a moment of partially suppressed rage or stark loneliness. It’s the sad, little child hiding in the corner after being rejected, and it’s the bully on the playground who terrorizes others. Your shadow is everything you can’t control, your very own personal, inner chaos. How can you dig deep and find true acceptance? How can you find your real self? Start by telling yourself, Self, I am here to accept you. Are You Ready?
I will stand by you, self, because I love you. Really tell yourself that and feel how powerful it is. Do you notice it resonating within you? If you do, it is because no one is completely perfect according to societal standards. Everyone has faults, secrets, and challenges along with talents, gifts, and qualities they flaunt. The thing is all of it is actually a treasure because it’s you. The more you integrate your deep self, the more you are free to accept and share joy and love. They smooth your life and prepare you for greatness. Find a quiet space and lie down or sit comfortably. You will be going within, into your heart space. See yourself standing in a temple in the center of your heart. Notice the surroundings. What colors and textures do you see? Walk over to the altar in the center of the temple. The Last Thing You Should Do
If it is bare, cover it with things that bring you joy, like flowers, tropical fruits, minerals, pictures, artwork, or statues of deities. Stand and raise your arms above your head. See yourself doing the same within your heart’s temple. I call all aspects of my self to the center of my heart chamber. My shadow, hear my call. It is time to integrate, shadow self, shadow self, shadow self. You are literally talking to your shadow self, and it helps if you say it aloud so that your brain and all of the parts of yourself physically hear you. If you speak your call aloud, you will have better results. See your shadow stand before you in the center of your heart temple. Look it straight in the eye. Visualize white light and love emanating from your spirit self, from your hands and heart and eyes, toward your shadow. When you feel a connection to your shadow self, ask it to speak to you. What does it have to say that you haven’t been able or willing to hear? Listen without judgment. Consider the possibility of opening your heart to loving your shadow. Try to allow that to happen now. Visualize opening your arms to hug your shadow. If you are able to love yourself, you can integrate all aspects of who you are, whether or not they are consciously expressed. Then they won’t express themselves unconsciously when you react to stressful situations or are triggered by circumstances. When people blow up in anger, it is their shadow part that is angry. When your shadow is done hugging you, offer it a home in your heart temple. Show it around and visualize helping it create a lovely room full of what will make it happy. Sit for a time, noticing how you feel after welcoming all that you are into the temple of your heart. Do you notice anything new? A sense of wholeness or balance that wasn’t felt before? Use this process as often as you would like. Know that you have delved deep, found the beautiful depths of yourself, and freed yourself to accept and live more joy. I embrace every day as an opportunity to live fully and with total heart and with happiness. What if you had one day left on earth? Would you want to make sure everyone in your life who cared about you knew? Would you commune with spirit in deep meditation? Would you party like a wild child? Would you create the most glorious art or music? Would you spend the day crying over losing your attachments? Or would you look forward to the next phase of your soul’s adventure?