Spiritual Integrity

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Live a Life of Purpose and Divine Connection
Heather Ash Amara and Raven Smith
Related product: Spiritual Integrity

Have you ever made a commitment to yourself and not followed through? Do you wish you had more energy and space to create change in your life? Are you often confused about what your purpose really is, or how to manifest it?

Are you ready to step into your innate fullness and integrity? continue reading »

Four Great Benefits of Spiritual Life Coaching
Raven Smith

Spiritual life coaching is an amazing gift to give yourself. We all know the difficulty in changing the habitual behaviors that do not serve us, and successfully taking actions that support our desire to live a full, abundant, and peaceful life. A life coach offers support and reflection that can keep us on track with our goals in life. A spiritual life coach keeps our goals in the context of our spiritual path. continue reading »

Create an Effective Action Plan to Live the Life You Want
Heather Ash Amara and Raven Smith

The New Year is a great time to re-evaluate where you are putting your energy and what specific steps you can implement to create lasting change in your mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Here is an effective step-by-step process to identify what you want, be aware of what keeps you from getting it, and create a plan to take action to reach your goal. continue reading »

Use Your Dreams to Gain Inspiration and Clarity
Raven Smith

Integrity in the Dreamtime - For thousands of years, shamans, mystics, and holy seekers from every culture have relied on their dreams as a source of inspired information about the meaning and direction of life. The dreaming state is beyond the conscious mind; it taps the depths of our selves and our connection to Spirit without the filters of time and space imposed by the conscious mind. continue reading »

Mental Integrity: Five Techniques to Quiet the Mind
Heather Ash Amara

Our internal dialogue is comprised of the many voices in our head. They distract, judge, compare, and appear to support us in solving problems. These voices take us out of the present, causing us to cycle old thoughts about the past and worries about the future. Our internal dialogue snags our attention in a mess of stories and dramas, keeping us from attending to what is actually in front of us.

Learning to consciously direct our mind and stop our internal dialogue allows us to soften into each moment and open to all possibilities. It leads us into mental integrity, where we can hear our own true voice. continue reading »

How to Create Space Internally to Hear the Divine
Heather Ash Amara

When you clear your mind, express your emotions, and cleanse your physical body, you release what you are not. You create space for the Divine to enter and remind you who you are. The more space you have internally the easier it is to listen and tap into Spirit's wisdom and clarity. continue reading »

Five Steps to Uncover and Clear Conflicting Internal Beliefs
Heather Ash Amara

Spoken or unspoken, the concept of integrity - what is right, what is whole, how we should be in the world - is passed to us from our parents and society. Our parents physically and energetically model this message, sharing verbally and psychically what they feel is appropriate. In many cases, their beliefs and their relationship with integrity have been passed down from their parents unquestioned. continue reading »

How to Take Action to Be and Live Your Authentic Self
Heather Ash Amara

Spiritual Integrity is a remembering, a weaving of our scattered parts into a solid whole. We step into our Spiritual Integrity when our thoughts, actions, and emotions stem from our essence, rather than our strategies and old patterns. On this journey, at times we may feel confusion, wondering, "How do I know who/what is the real me? What is my integrity?" And other times we have a clear sense that something in our life does not match who we really are.

This article includes a concrete process for moving towards your authentic self or integrity, for those times when you know something in your life is out and needs to change. continue reading »

Going Deeper to Clear Core Beliefs and Live Your Integrity
Raven Smith

Those of you on a healing, spiritual, personal development, or self-improvement path may be familiar with the process of finding and clearing core beliefs. These are the agreements we make as children to make sense out of the world and to keep ourselves safe. As adults these old agreements often drive habitual behavior patterns and limit us from actualizing our full potential. When we release agreements that do not serve us, we can create more spaciousness inside ourselves, and room to choose the life we want. continue reading »

Disrupt Routines, Break the Mold, and Reclaim Energy to Live Your Life More Fully
Raven Smith

The routines of our lives are an amazing source of energy, energy that is bound up in a dull cycle of illusion. It is time to wake up. It is time to live a joyous life where each moment stretches to an infinite expression of divine bliss. Sound good? Then let's roll up our sleeves and get to work. continue reading »

Live As Though You Were Dying: Call in the Angel of Death for Fun and Profit
Heather Ash Amara

We humans have an interesting phobia of death in our culture (the dream we live in). We are silent on the topic, as if talking or thinking about death will cause it to occur more quickly. Instead of something to be feared, followers of Toltec Wisdom view death as one of our greatest tools on the spiritual path. When we allow ourselves to acknowledge the incredibly short span of our lives and the truth that our body, our mind, and this particular incarnation are finite, we can either suffer or get motivated to truly savor life. continue reading »

Paradox and the Nature of Mind
Raven Smith

In looking at schools of spiritual thought, have you ever noticed that the description of the ultimate nature of reality almost always falls into one of two categories? Either the ultimate truth is that reality is everything (we are all connected, and it is all one thing), or reality is nothing (everything we see is an illusion and none of it really exists). What I have realized from my own search is that both are equally true: life is everything and nothing. continue reading »

Inspiration

Ask the Ultimate Question: Peel Away Illusion to Live in the Now
Raven Smith

What if you woke up tomorrow and discovered that everything in your life is a lie? That everything you've been taught, everything you believe in, every experience you've ever had was simply not true, an illusion...

What would you do? Would you rage against the creator of this illusion? Would you fall into hopelessness and despair?

Or would you find a deep place inside yourself that burned to know the truth, that yearned to find what was outside of the illusion... continue reading »

Everythingness and Nothingness
Heather Ash Amara and Raven Smith

A podcast style conversation between Heather Ash and Raven about the paradox of walking a spiritual path.

listen » windows media | mp3

Jill Taylor's TED Talk
Jill Taylor

We couldn't resist posting a link to this amazing video of a talk by a brain scientist about her own vivid experience of the part of us that knows we are one, and the part that makes us separate. We have never seen anyone hold the experience of oneness and express it so clearly. Blessings to the goddess for her beauty in sharing her gifts and insights. watch »

Shamanism

Working with Intent
Heather Ash Amara

A live teaching with Heather Ash discussing how to work with the obstacles that arise when we try and manifest a new behaviour or situation in our lives.

listen »  windows media | mp3

Shamanism: The Art of Perception
Heather Ash Amara

The roots of all cultures can be traced back to earth-centered spirituality. Before the formalized religions of the world, people lived by the seasons and cycles of the sun, moon and earth, knowing the balance of the earth and the sun, the physical and the spiritual. The physical, earthly plane and the spiritual, etheric plane where both seen as equal expressions of Life. Shamans knew how to travel between these two worlds to gather information and bring healing to their communities. continue reading »

See Through the Eyes of the Shaman, Align Yourself with Joy
Heather Ash Amara

A breakthrough in our understanding of self comes when we learn to perceive as shamans do: not only with my mind, but from an energetic standpoint. Through working directly with the life force, and with the four basic energies of air, fire, water, and earth, we reclaim the keys to healing and opening ourselves to deep connection with all life. continue reading »

The Energy of Agreements
Heather Ash Amara

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." --Marcel Proust

Imagine you have new eyes. From this new point of perception you see human beings not as skin and hair and form, but as energy. Physically, we have two hands. But in an energetic sense we each have thousands of hands, each grasping at different agreements and beliefs. Each agreement is an energetic handshake. The hand at the other end may be attached to another human's energetic hand, or even to an imaginary force. continue reading »

How to Work with Power Places to Heal Yourself and the Planet
Raven Smith
Related Link: Power Journeys

When we first start out on the path to awakening our true self, most if not all of our energy is tied up in false beliefs that limit our perception of the world and who we really are. To break free from the trap of our beliefs takes awareness, knowledge and energy, all things that we initially don't have. What most of us fail to realize is that we are standing on an almost infinite source of energy and knowledge that is always available and willing to help us: the earth.

Ancient shamanic-based societies, such as the Toltec of Mexico and the Incas of Peru, knew this very well. Living close to the land enabled them to learn and draw energy from the earth to expand their perception and remove the beliefs that kept them trapped in the limited perspectives of mind. continue reading »

Yoga and Shamanism
Raven Smith

Shamans have a deep interest in the nature of perception, and an expanded understanding of what constitutes reality. The tradition of yoga also has this expanded understanding.

The word yoga translates as Union. One of the foundational teachings of Yoga are the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali. In it the first sutra on which all else is based reads: Yoga [is the] narodha [of] vritti chitta.

The translation from the above Sanskrit I like the best goes as follows: Union is the removal of the definitions that limit reality.

By contemplating this phrase we can extrapolate an entire spiritual methodology. continue reading »

Toltec Wisdom, Toltec Tools

Attitude and the Spiritual Path
Raven Smith

Recorded live with Raven Smith - A discussion about the importance of willingness and good attitude. Talks about keeping yourself inspired so that your spiritual path is a joy, not a chore.

listen » windows media | mp3

The Ocean of Mind
Heather Ash Amara

At many classes I teach a common question is, "How can I stop my mind?" Instead of focusing on stopping the activity of the mind, I encourage people to redirect the energy of their mind to help them gain rather than deplete energy. continue reading »

Enrich Your Life by Contemplating Death
Raven Smith

On the Toltec Wisdom Path we talk about using death as an advisor, surrendering ourselves to the Angel of Death, but how many of us have considered the enormity of this concept and the incredible value of this tool?

What if you believed each moment was your last? Your last chance to take an action, to speak your truth, to love yourself, to love somebody else, to think a thought, to be with the wonder, mystery, and joy of being alive in a body. Can you imagine the richness this perspective could bring to every minute of your life? continue reading »

The Energy of Agreements
Heather Ash Amara

Imagine you have new eyes. From this new point of perception you see human beings not as skin, hair and flesh, but as energy. Physically, we have two hands. But in an energetic sense we each have thousands of hands, which grasp at different agreements and beliefs. Each agreement is an energetic handshake. The hand at the other end may be attached to another human's energetic hand, or even to an imaginary force. continue reading »

The Mitote Book
Heather Ash Amara
Related product: Spiritual Integrity

The mitote book is a place for us to write out the chaos in our mind. For the Toltecs, taking a inventory of our agreements is an important step toward personal freedom. All the conflicts in the mind are often hidden from our conscious self. We may see the results of these agreements in our lives, but we do not realize how many voices and agreements we actually carry until we begin to catalog them. By writing out our own mitote, we begin to clearly hear the distinct voices of the judge and the victim. We begin to see the rules in our book of law. And we uncover the conflicts these different voices have created. continue reading »

Creative Intent

Awaken Your Creative Intent
Heather Ash Amara

Creativity is the juiciness and flow of life. It is often unexpected, unexplainable, and unpredictable. Creativity is our unique expression of life, manifested for pure joy. When we are in the river of creative flow, we do not seek a reward or recognition; we tap into the unknown and for a moment, mystery moves through us into form. continue reading »

Running Experiments

Notes on the Blonde Experiment
Heather Ash Amara
Related product: Four Elements of Change

The experiment began in a circle of spiritual warriors. The question I posed to the group: What mask or persona would be the most difficult for you to step in to? What image would you never want to portray? Who do you most judge outside of yourself? continue reading »

The Power of Silence
Heather Ash Amara

Ask yourself if what you are about to say would be an improvement on silence. -Baba Hari Dass

We emerge into the silence of awe, the stillness of the world holding its breath while new life is birthed. As babies we are seeped in the silence between the spiritual realm and the physical realm. We are open vessels, expressing our joys and pains without any static or interference from the mind. We do not question whether it is right or wrong to have a particular emotion, we simply are. continue reading »

Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan: The Warrior's Journey
Heather Ash Amara
Related Link: Power Journeys

The magic of Teo, as we affectionately call Teotihuacan, is the energy that imbues the land and pyramids. This site 45 minutes outside of Mexico City was used by the Toltecs thousands of years ago as a University. Today, don Miguel and the Toltec teachers continue the tradition of bringing groups to Teo to learn directly from the ancient, silent knowledge of the stones. continue reading »

Just Another Day in Teotihuacan
Raven Smith
Related Link: Power Journeys

A fun, short video detailing an experience I had at the pyramid complex in Teotihuacan Mexico. watch »

Teo Poems
Raven Smith
Related Link: Power Journeys

A quartet of poems: Hell, Quetzalcoatl, Death, Plaza of Earth. continue reading »

Relationships, Sexuality, Sacred Union

Relationship
Raven Smith

All relationships, from friends to family, intimate partners to co-workers, stem from our relationship with self. The level of depth, healing, and sustained joy (or lack of) in all of our relating reflects our willingness to be intimate and honest with who we really are. This is deep work, the peeling of layers of fear, domestication, and busyness to unearth our truest self and share it with others. It takes a strong heart and courageous spirit to turn our focus away from the leaning on others for validation and a sense of love, whether sweet or drama-filled. continue reading »

Firewalking

Raking Out the Coals
Raven Smith
Related Link: Firewalking

Once the wood has burned down to a heaping pile of coals we rake them out into a path for people to walk on. watch »

Walking on Fire!
Raven Smith
Related Link: Firewalking

A number of people opened up to a new reality at this firewalk at Blessingstead, Seatte area. watch »

Ritual and Ceremony

Celebrate Your Life: Infuse It with Joy and Spirit
Heather Ash Amara

Celebrating the many transitions in your life, from difficult to ecstatic, weaves a thread of spirit into everything you do. It also encourages you to be in the present moment with your full, conscious attention. The act of celebrating keeps you attuned to the gifts of all aspects of life, from birth, to death, to rebirth. Your celebrations can mark not only the expected holidays, but also the mundane, the unexpected, and the challenging. continue reading »

Honoring the Cycles of Life
Heather Ash Amara

Ceremonies and rituals mark change points in our life. When we bring consciousness to transition, we allow the sacred to enter, and create space for reflection and renewal. In our busy world, stopping and honoring the transitional points in our lives and in the world around us is crucial. Each time we pause to ceremonially note a change within or without, we step between the worlds, a magical timeless place where all is possible. We slip out of our normal reality, and can access vital spiritual resources and guidance to bring back with us to enrich our life. continue reading »

How to Create a Ritual or Ceremony
Heather Ash Amara

Here are a few simple guidelines to create a ritual, all of which can be modified. Whether you are creating a ceremony or ritual for yourself or for a thousand people, these guidelines help create a grounded flow. Be flexible, fluid, and bendable. Ritual is art, not science. continue reading »

Walking with the Angel of Death
Heather Ash Amara

Here in the desert the moon curls around itself, playing in the shadows of the sandstone rocks. I hear the wind smoothing the jutting points of the solidified sand walls, caressing the rounded corners. Sagebrush and pinon mix their scent with the stars. Here each sandy footfall leaves an imprint to catch moonbeams. I grasp hold of a crag of sandstone, familiar roughness pushing into my palm, and pull my weight up to the ledge hidden behind. I have come here to die. As I stare into the night I see the veil between the worlds beckoning me with its thin fingers. There is no fear in this place, only gratitude. I finally see my life as the prayer it is. I bless each person in my life, all teachers. I curl the moon around me and fall asleep. continue reading »

Meditations and Prayers

Prayer from the Desert
Raven Smith

...I realize I am suffering right now because I have identified with some piece of the whole, and by doing so have created a separation in my perception between myself and WHAT IS... continue reading »

Meditation Series
http://www.tolteccenter.org/articles/index.html

A series of meditations written by Heather Ash Amara for the Toltec Center of Creative Intent.>

YouTube Videos

Conscious Relationships

Heather Ash talks about Intent

Toltec Wisdom and Healing

Index