Principle 1
We Are All One


The first principle was brought home to me recently when a friend and former co-worker of mine was gunned down in the Government Center. Miraculously, he survived a bullet in his neck, placed there by a tragically troubled person.

I was very disturbed by this event, first because he was a friend but also because it aroused in me a sense of vulnerability. In meditation, the Light Collective reminded me of the first principle "WE ARE ALL ONE." I am a part of my friend and feel his pain. I am a part of his assailant and feel her confusion and rage. I am a part of the gun lobby that campaigns for her right to purchase a firearm. I am part of the workers who now enter the building with less confidence and more fear.

What happens to me affects everything and everyone. What happens to others happens in a small part also to me. What I do, although miniscule is yet important. We are all a part of a universe and all the beings, both seen and unseen, which inhabit it. We are a part of dimensions containing spirits passed from this world and others. We are part of the animal kingdom, we are touched by fairy dust and guarded by angels. The Earth itself resonates as we walk upon her.

As a drop of water taken from the ocean remains part of the ocean, so we are separate and yet all ONE. When returned to the ocean, it mingles back in it´s home. One drop of polluted water returned to the ocean may have a small effect, yet it does have an effect. One drop purified and clean may encourage the beginning of a regeneration. So it is with us. We are each drops in the universe.

As I pondered this, my fear decreased and I realized I could not judge or blame anything or anyone. After all, I am part of all that happened that day. I am part of the forces in IraqÉon all sides. Part of me died on 9/11. Part of me was the cause of 9/11.

So, what does this all mean for our individual lives? The awareness of this truth makes the living of these lives more sacred. What we do is important. We may be the very drop that shifts the balance.

Principle 2
We Are Eternal
When the Light Collective started to teach me it´s principles, I was startled by the wisdom and also the simplicity of the teachings. The Principle "We Are Eternal" is certainly a belief that is in line with all the major religions of this world. We live for a very brief time on this earth, but our birth was not our beginning nor is our death an ending.

My parents told me that as soon as I could talk I insisted that I remembered being born. To this day I have memories of being pulled forcefully out of the womb with forceps. (Apparently none to anxious to enter this world) I also remember vividly the shocked look on an aunt´s face when she first took a look at my then misshapen head. (yes, it did straighten out pretty much) I also remember flashbacks to earlier lives and times. My favorite game as a small child was something I called "dig" which consisted of pretending to dig in the ground and unearth my "real" home.

Over the years, other memories have come to me of times long past. In my readings with others, I am often shown their past lives, generally ones which impact how the person is living in this one.

All of this makes me certain that we are here on earth many times and will, in all likelihood, return again. The Spirits assure me that we choose whether and when we come to earth again. We are not forced to return because of some karmic law. We return when we wish to experience life again and to learn lessons to aid in our spiritual growth. They also tell me there are many other dimensions and worlds to visit. Jesus himself assured us that "there were worlds we knew not of."

Our lives are eternal. What we do now affects us forever. But we have an eternity to learn, to grow, to correct past mistakes and re-connect with friends and family who have past over to another realm. (One Spirit once joked with me. He said, "Actually, we consider you guys to be on the "other side.")

The comfort of this principle is marvelous. We do not end. We always have another chance to undo any mistakes or arguments or sadness. Yet, what we do today is important. For eternity is a series of todays.

Enjoy your today.

Principles 3 and 4
All things are created by our thoughts and are activated by our emotions.

We were sitting around, sipping tea and talking, as spiritual groups often do, about how to incorporate what we KNOW into our day to day lives. Why, we wondered, do our lives not contain the love and joy we know are always available to us? How do we teach abundance and passionate living unless we have them?

Suddenly, the Light Collective broke through. One moment I am having a human moment, the next, I am no longer in my body and watching with a strange sense of non-attachment and very little memory, as beings use my vocal chords to lecture. (Frankly, it can be very irritating.)

But the thing is (and Yes, I do let them do thisÉthey would never come in if I did not) they know stuff that I don´t. (That can be annoying as well)

In any event, the Light Collective began to speak. "Understanding the third and fourth principle," they said, will allow you to create the lives you desire.

Most of us have heard the third principle. It is "We create the world with our thoughts." This principle has been talked about a great deal. It is the idea that everything in our lives and in the world exists because we think it. Changing our thoughts will, in fact, change our lives.

But how? That is the 4th principle. Emotions are the fuel that activates our thoughts.

The Light Collective explained this further. We create by our thoughts, but the way in which this creation appears is due to the emotion used to activate it. They used weight loss as an example. We weigh what we believe we weigh. If we truly THINK we will lose weight we will do so. But the emotion behind that thought will create how it is done.

If the emotion is a fear based emotion, (I hate how I lookÉI am afraid no one likes me at this weightÉI am disgusted by this body) then the weight loss may occur through illness or addictive behavior. On the other hand, if the emotion activating the weight loss thought is love based ( I love being in a smaller bodyÉdarn I look good in these jeans etc.) then the weight will simply become how you envision yourself.

Another example? Money. You THINK I need more money. If that thought is fear based. (I am afraid I can´t pay my rent. I hate not having a lot of money) Then the money may come in hard ways such as over working., a car accident settlement where you are harmed, and so forth.)

If you Think I deserve abundance and then activate that with a loved based emotion, (I love having beauty in my life. I have such fun with my money. I truly enjoy having enough money to share) then abundance will come in loving, gentle ways. (suddenly appearing out of nowhereÉa job you loveÉa marriage)

So, how do we use this in our lives? First, monitor your thoughts. How many times a day do you say to yourself things like "I hate this jobÉI look terribleÉI can´t do this task."? You CREATE with these thought. So change them. (I have a great job. I look marvelous. I can do anything)

Then activate those changes with loved based emotions. Expect the best. Love what happens. Stay in a loved based place and then sit back and ENJOY how lovely life will be.

There are only two emotions, love and fear
The Art of Emotional Alchemy

I hung up the telephone and sat in my chair feeling slightly bombarded by the wave of emotions that washed over me. I had been talking to a friend who was in quite a bit of emotional and physical distress and, as an intuitive; I had to take some time to sort through my emotions. "Whose emotions are these," I asked myself, "mine or hers?" As an intuitive, it is sometimes hard for me to tell.

I could hear the Light Collective in the back of my mind reminding that there are really only two emotions, love and fear. All other emotions are either love or fear based. Behind emotions such as anxiety and anger and loneliness and resentment and jealousy and depression is a core sense of fear. On the other side of the spectrum are the love-based emotions such as joy and playfulness and compassion and anticipation and creativity and passion.

They also reminded me that we could decide which emotion to experience. And that it is always wise to choose love.

"Simplistic," I snorted at them, thinking of my friend´s pain. "It is simple," they stated, "but not always easy." Then, they reminded me of how to transmute fear into love. Here is what they told me to do: (excerpted from my book, The Intuitive Advantage)

Emotion, just like everything else in this world, is made up of energy. You can think of emotion as e-motion--energy in motion. Emotions are some of the most powerful energy sources on our planet. Our job is to take the unwanted or negative emotions, which we all experience and learn to transmute them into positive energy, which can be used for the benefit of ourselves, other living beings and the planet herself.
The emotions that we generate are ours alone, and we are in total control of them. We do not need to let the energy stemming from fear remain in our bodies, nor should we release this energy to be endured by the planet. Our job is to recognize the emotion, name it, and then transmute the energy into love, which we then send forth to the earth and to others in healing and joy.

This, like all true wisdom, is not a new idea. The Taoist practice of the Inner Smile is a similar technique. According to the Tao, all emotions are lodged in various organs of your body. When you practice the Inner Smile, you first search out the locations of your emotions, and then you "smile" at them, transforming negative emotions into positive emotion.

Emotional alchemy is similar. First you must spend a few minutes in a focus state, noticing your emotions. Then, it is important that you name the emotion. Are you feeling lonely, sad, angry or depressed? Put a title to your emotion and locate its source within your body. If you try, you will be able to feel the emotion in a particular area of your body. Once you have found the location of the emotion, sit with it for a minute, honoring it but not dwelling upon it. Do not put a storyline to it. It is not necessary and is counterproductive to spend any time thinking of why you feel sad, or with whom you are angry. All you want to do it locate the emotion and name it.

After sitting with the emotion for a short time, you will gradually gather it into a ball. As you pull the emotion tightly together, you gain control over it. Now surround this ball with light, transforming it to a brightly glowing orb. Visualize this glowing circle rising up in your body, flowing through your heart as compassion and through your third eye (the area between and slightly above your physical eyes) as joy. Allow this love and joy to completely replace the emotion with which you started. When you are certain that you have completely transmuted your negative emotion into love, compassion, and joy, you then release this energy into the universe. Send it to the earth for healing. Let it flow to the damaged coral reefs, the oil spills and the nuclear waste facilities. Picture this love encompassing whatever spot in the earth is at war. Transmit some to the latest site of an environmental or natural disaster. Ask your intuition to tell you where this energy is needed the most.

As we know from science, energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can, however, be transformed. Your transmuting of your emotional energy is a gift to the planet beyond measure. Still, you have not given away anything that you need for yourself. There is joy, love, and compassion in abundance left for you to send to any parts of your physical, emotional and spiritual bodies that need healing. Do that now.
Recycling is a wonderful thing that we can and should do for our earth and ourselves. By practicing emotional alchemy you are recycling any negative emotions you carry into healing love emotions. In the process, you will feel better, lighter and freer than you have in years.

Principle 6
Choose Love
Getting ready for a trip is always an interesting thing to do. I find myself swimming through a sea of emotions. Excitement at the thought of the journey, panic about all the things left to be done, worry regarding what I will forget to do. Did I change the message on my phone? Who will water my plants? How many pairs of socks do I really need to bring?

The more exotic and distant the destination, the more I worry. And so I am sending off this newsletter to let you all know I will be gone from April 15th to the 25th and that I sure hope one of you waters my plants and checks my e-mail and oh, my goddess I forgot to stop the newspaperÉ.and what if I left the coffee pot turned on? Well, You get my drift.

I travel a lot. I have walked the great wall of China, danced a waltz in Vienna, witnessed a cremation ceremony in Bali and jumped naked into a cenote in Mexico. And yet, every time I leave I worry a little about the small details of my life I am leaving behind.

So, the Light Collective reminded me that principle number six is simple. Choose love.

There are only two emotions, they reiterated. All emotions are either fear based or love based. And we have our choice. At any time, in every circumstance, we can choose either a fear based or a love based emotion.

"Yeah," I said. "And this has what to do with who is watering my plants?"

They said, "Kathryn, leave your plants with love. Go on your trip with love. Enjoy. "

I sort of hate it when they are right.

Principle 7
Time is an illusion


It is difficult for us to imagine that time does not exist. But, even physicists will tell you that time is not a thing or an object. It is a tool which we have created to aid us in measuring our world. In that way, the concept of a year or an hour or a day is similar to that of an inch or a meter or a mile.

Time is a VERY useful concept. When I make an appointment with you for Tuesday, the 21st at 10:30 am, both of us know what we are speaking about and when to appear. But, the Light Collective assures me that Tuesday only exists because we have both chosen to agree upon it.

We have all experienced the sensation of time stretching endlessly (think of your last dental cleaning, for example.) You have perhaps noticed how LONG a lecture can be and how quickly a vacation goes by. And, most of us over a "certain age," have commented that weeks sure go by quicker than they did when we were kids.

We are eternal beings. We cannot be created or destroyed. We live forever. Sometimes I think we reincarnate strictly so we can experience things with new eyesÉour first kiss, the first time we see the Sphinx or taste ice cream. But, the Light Collective asks me to remind you that time is an illusion we have created to aid and order our lives. It is our tool, not our master.

It is useful to remember this, for then we can make time work at our command. When I am panicked because I don´t have "enough time" to get something done, I remind myself that time does not exist. It is abundant. I always have and always will have all the time I want. Then I say to myself "I have plenty of time" and sure enough, everything gets done with time to spare.

On a couple of occasions I have had concrete examples of the illusion of time. Once, I drove a distance of about 25 miles through a very busy section of Minneapolis. When I arrived home, I realized it had taken me about 15 minutes to do soÉ.a literal impossibility until I remembered that time is an illusion. Some friends of mine tell of leaving Minneapolis on a driving trip and arriving in Phoenix, Arizona about 12 hours later. They are talented time magicians.

Another "time," I had a group meeting at my studio consisting of about 10 people. We did a number of exercises and other things and then it seemed that the two hours we had allotted for this experience had passed. Then we all looked at our watches and saw it had only been about 45 minutes since we had begun. Ten people looked at each other in wonder as we realized that what we had done could NOT have been done in that amount of time. Except for thisÉ.time is an illusion. Another lesson.

Principle Eight
You are Responsible
I closed down my e-mail program and stared out the window for a few minutes. I get a lot of e-mail from people asking for advice or guidance. Some days I shake my head in wonderment as to why anyone would think I had answers. Other times I just feel blessed that my words might help. Mostly, I do what I can do and try not to take things too seriously.

Hearing my guides is a little like tuning into a radio that always plays quietly in the background. When I am busy with my life or with my ruminations, I have no conscious awareness of them. Then, rather like picking out a familiar tune from background music, I become aware that my guides have something to tell me.

In this case, they wanted to remind me of principle eight. "You are responsible Kathryn," they said. Everything that happens to me is created by me. And everything that happens to you is created by you.

I have hestitated to write about this principle because, I think, it is the most difficult for people to "swallow." Most of us believe that life happens to us. We live our lives believing we are the victims of a capricious and often cruel world.

But, the light collective reminded me, this powerless self definition is what causes us to feel that way. Why, they wondered, did we not claim our power?

You are responsible. Everything you do, everything you think, every word you speak is an act of creation. This does not mean that bad things will not happen to you. There are horrible acts and nasty people and disease and ultimately, of course, death. But, the way you respond to these things is up to you. And your response will create how that happening plays out in your life.

I thought back to the e-mail I had just sent. I knew that my response would perhaps anger the recipient. People do not necessarily want to believe that they are the creators of their own lives. Somehow, we are afraid of the power and responsibility that implies.

Still, I find comfort in the fact that today, as all days, my life is my own. My responses will create my world. My emotions will color it. Color your lives beautifully today.