Lately there seems to be many people suffering through the daily challenges of life, both around the country and around the world. The causes of these struggles are problems ranging from financial and economic change to health issues and relationship problems. The result is that a lot of people are asking a lot of questions about the nature of life. Maybe one of the people asking a question is you. These are questions whose answers would bring the peace, comfort and creative change that is longed for by many. The questions keep being asked but yet the answers seem as elusive as ever.

If you only knew that every question you have ever asked has an answer and that answer is always right in front of you. If you only knew that your ability to see that answer was one hundred percent dependent on your will to embrace the new information and how that information was going to change the way you look at yourself and the world around you. If you only knew that this is a self-sustaining and supportive universe whose sole purpose is to help you get the information you need to help you to create and experience what you desire. If you knew, what questions would you ask and what answers would you finally embrace?

If you only knew that your journey of self-awareness was the whole intent of your life and that life is always leading you to a greater sense of this awareness of who you are and what you are truly capable of doing and being. If you only knew that this greater sense of awareness leads to a greater sense of possibility for you in the world and that breaking through limitation was truly a simple matter of belief, perception and understanding. If you knew, what would you see as possible and what would you attempt to create in your world?

If you only knew that this greater self-awareness leads to a greater sense of self-acceptance, self-respect and self-love because what is revealed is always more and more of your undeniable perfection. If you only knew that not only do you matter but that you are the most important person in your world because it is you that is always affecting and giving life to everyone and everything around you. If you only knew that you are loved without end by a universe whose love is without end. If you knew, how deeply would you love?

If you only knew that life is truly all there is and that it is not a matter of if you will survive but rather only a matter of how you will choose to survive based on who you choose to be. If you only knew how beautiful you really are right now inside and out and the choice to see this and create form this is all the universe can truly respond to. If you only knew that this choice of self-definition is your greatest gift and in each moment you get to make this choice. If you knew, who would you choose to be right now?

If you only knew that no a single moment of your life has been wasted and the every moment has a purpose that is always and only for you, including this one.  If you knew, what would you see is really happening for you in this moment?

If you only knew…

Howard Falco, is the author of a new book on self-awareness titled “I AM: The Power of Discovering Who You Really Are (Tarcher/Penguin) http://www.thebookIAM.com He is a spiritual teacher and speaker on the unlimited power of the mind and its effect on the creation and experience of reality. More about his work and schedule can be found at www.HowardFalco.com

Below are 10 Powerful thoughts or quotes to help lift your spirits and shift your state of mind from a place of anxiety and fear to a place of peace and contentment.

At peace is where you are your most creatively powerful as it relates to moving towards what you desire.

For the best results, take your time to not only read what’s written below but to embrace and absorb these words as well.

1. “This too shall pass” As with every challenging situation you have faced before this one, with time the winds of change will transform your experience to reveal new opportunities.

2. “God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that can be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish one from the other” -Reinhold Neibuer

3. “The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled.  For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.” – Unknown

4. “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms, to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way” -Viktor Frankl

5. “Without darkness nothing comes to birth, as without light nothing flowers.” – May Sarton

6. “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”  -Helen Keller

7. As painful as any situation may seem, there is always a purpose for it. What you ultimately want in life often requires you to face your greatest challenges. If for just one minute you open to this notion you may see and feel differently about what you currently face and you may begin to see its true purpose and meaning in your life.

8. How many other times in your life did you face obstacles that you thought you would never get over? You have survived everything you have faced just to get to this moment right now. The true nature of you existence is never in doubt because you are the eternal observer. You have overcome it all and you will continue to overcome it all.

9. There is no one who is more powerful than you. You are creating it all, which means you can change it all. Free will is your greatest gift. This is the free will to choose how you will interpret and react to the situation you now face. The power is always in your hands.

10. “You are never alone.” The universe we live in is designed to ensure your survival. If you doubt this, then ask yourself where these words you are now reading are coming from? Who created them and who are they designed for? As you contemplate this further you may find out just how supported and loved you really are on this journey called life!

Howard Falco is a spiritual teacher and author of a powerful new book on self-awareness titled, “I AM: The Power of Discovering Who You Really Are” (Tarcher/Penguin) http://www.thebookIAM.com He teaches and speaks on the power of the mind and the creation of personal reality. More about his work and schedule can be found at www.HowardFalco.com

The following are questions about life submitted during a second webinar I held in December titled “Master Your Reality”.

QUESTION: What should I do about following my bliss when I feel like I should remain in my current work where people who I consider dear friends are depending on me?

RESPONSE: This is the current precipice of transformation for you. Will you submit to the rationalization that others need you and cant survive without you as an excuse for not to follow your heart that says there is more to life and love for you to experience. Or, will you open to and begin the process creating you reality in line with your true feelings.

The key thing to be aware of here is how much personal need begins to surface that has kept you away from bliss, the moment you begin down this path or even the thought of it. The question is, “Are you willing to have the faith that you will survive without being needed by them?” This is the next choice point on the path to true liberation and freedom for you.

Drop the need to be needed, find you own peace and grace and you’ll be needed all the days of your life….

QUESTION: What about finding balance between light and dark…good and bad…yin and yang? I understand and want to remain positive yet the other side exists so how do I allow the dark to exist and yet stay positive?

RESPONSE: Yin and yang is a fundamental principal of duality, yet the experience of joy and bliss that is being offered through all of this information, is transcendent of a karmic backside and devoid of any illusions that end up being erased by a negative experience (yin/yang).

Whatever exists in your life exists as long as you keep your belief, focus and attention and thoughts on it. Any experience you desire of mind is possible for you, therefore, it is just as possible that you can enjoy much joy, peace and happiness each day and much less negativity.

The false idea is that something bad will happen to equal out the joy. This is the core of the issue. Life is what you make of it based on how you determine the circumstances you encounter each day. All of life can be joy when you begin to see this possibility and what is being offered to you through each happening of your life.

You stay positive in the face of perceived darkness with a faith and acceptance that understands that all things have a purpose for you on this journey. You do it with a knowing that all challenges are potential acceleration points towards more peace, understanding and bliss. You stay positive knowing that nothing is against you throughout your life but always for you.

QUESTION: My husband is laid off of work, since then he has spent an enormous amt. of time on the computer (being nonproductive). I am expecting him to be productive. I can’t help but allow his flow of energy affect my energy. I am feeling brought down by what seems to be the “lack of energy” he brings into the house. How do I avoid and be less judgmental towards him and embrace the fact that he is at home, he is alive, he is helping out. I can’t seem to shake the idea that he has a duty to go out and earn or be productive. How can I handle this situation, help myself or help him?

RESPONSE: The conflict you feel comes from your expectations of him as it conflicts with the reality you experience from him.

You say <<”I can’t seem to shake the idea that he has a duty to go out and earn or be productive.”>> The truth is you CAN shake the idea but you just haven’t chosen to do so yet. There is no right or wrong about this, just know that dropping the expectation is a possibility and a way to liberate your state of mind.

One way to reconcile the situation is to sit down and have a sincere heart to heart talk about what you are feeling, what he is feeling, and see if he is willing to make some changes in the effort of reconnecting with you. If this is done in a sincere nonjudgmental way you will see his true level of respect for you and your feelings which will allow you to make focused and confident decisions moving forward. If he feels attacked he will resist all aspects of your talk. What he is going through in his mind may be things that you have even considered yet (just like he hasn’t considered many of yours), so an open dialogue can be a powerful way to start change.

The real optimal path to the change you seek is to find your happiness and positivity even in the midst of the current situation. Can you see that this may be part of the reason this is happening for you? When you find your own bliss and release yourself from the effect, expectation or need of others to be anyone or anyway other than how they are being, you shine a powerful loving energy that radiates out and positively affects and uplifts all of those around you. You begin to transform your world because when you have transformed yourself. This is the true power and potential that is in you.

Have faith that there is a purpose for what is happening, be firm and steadfast in the life and type of energy you want to experience each day, and know that it is the acceptance not resistance of others that is the path to true change for you, your life and the decisions you will make from this moment forward.

QUESTION: What’s something I can do to become more aware of the truth of who I am right now?

RESPONSE: You just did it. Questioning with the true desire to know more is a large part of the process. The next step is to pay close attention to what enters you reality. It will reveal how truly powerful you are as a creator of your experience of life and will contain an answer for you to evaluate.

Also, look at your life and the current circumstances of your life and the relationships you have built or find yourself in. This will tell you much about who you have been. Who you are right now will be determined by how you interpret and respond to these circumstances from this moment forward.

Much Love,
Howard