Your Golden Essence

One of my favorite teaching stories, which we've just captured in my soon-to-be-released documentary If Shadows Could Talk, is the story of the Golden Buddha. It's an important story and a story we should all remember.

In 1957, a monastery in Thailand was being relocated and a group of monks was put in charge of moving a giant clay Buddha. In the midst of the move, one of the monks noticed a crack in the Buddha. Concerned about damaging the idol, the monks decided to wait for a day before continuing with their task.

During the night, one of the monks came to check on the giant statue. He shined his flashlight over the entire Buddha. When he reached the crack, he saw something reflected back at him. The monk, his curiosity aroused, got a hammer and a chisel and began chipping away at the clay Buddha.

As he knocked off piece after piece of clay, the Buddha got brighter and brighter. After hours of work, the monk looked up in amazement to see, standing before him, a huge solid gold Buddha.

Historians believe the Buddha had been covered with clay by Thai monks several hundred years earlier before an attack by the Burmese army. They covered the Buddha to protect it. In the attack, all the monks were killed, so it wasn't until 1957 that the great treasure was discovered.

Like the Buddha, our outer shell protects us from the world. Our real treasure is hidden within. We unconsciously hide our inner gold under a layer of clay. All we need to do to uncover our gold is have the courage to chip away at our outer shell, piece by piece.

If you want to chip away at your outer shell, I recommend the latest book by one of today's spiritual icons, Michael Bernard Beckwith. I know Michael to be a heavenly man with a huge heart and a commitment to transforming the world. If you feel the desire to wake up to new levels of consciousness and to access the gold that is already within you, curl up with Spiritual Liberation. It will nurture and inspire your soul. I love this man!

Transformational Action Step

In times of stress, there is only one real remedy and that is to step into a level of consciousness where everything is as it should be. What could you do this week to elevate your consciousness? What could you say to yourself? What could you do for yourself? What could you throw out or get rid of that is weighing down your psyche? Take a giant leap. Be brave and do something you've been putting off for months. If you're struggling right now, hold on. It will all pass soon. The heavens will open and you will be met with more love, more grace and more peace than you have ever imagined. This is a promise.

With love and blessings,

Debbie Ford

Love From Me To You

Happy Valentines Day! My heart wouldn't be full if I didn't share how much I love and appreciate you. Thank you for all the love and gratitude you send my way. Thank you for being part of the solution instead of maintaining the status quo and remaining part of the problem. Thank you for allowing your light to come forth this year and for shining brighter than those who came before you. I'm blessed to be connected with you and feel inspired to share space on this planet with YOU. And if you need some extra love right now, just close your eyes, take a deep breath and feel my love traveling over to you. You are very important and a special part of my life. I will never forget you.

You hold the key to someone else's heart and your sweet words will open doors that they may have shut long ago. This is why we are here -- to open hearts and turn the light back on within another's soul. Your love matters!

On this very special love day, we can all come together and cause another gigantic shift on this planet. You and I both have the opportunity to send more love out than we can ever imagine taking in. Please join me and my beloved community of Integrative Coaches -- The Collective Heart -- today in blasting LOVE to everyone you know or can reach.

How do you do that? Easy.

Reach out to others and share with them the love in your heart, the love that can transform a moment of pain to a moment of joy, a day of loneliness to a day of possibility. Love your kids, neighbors, co-workers, public officials, friends and anyone else you can communicate with. Allow the Divine and the love that pulses through your precious and irresistible heart to touch another's life.

During our yearly Love-A-Thon, a ritual of love and appreciation, we commit to making those around us feel inspired and loved. Today and all of this week, you can be a part of the magic of our collective heart.

We are out to cause a revolution of love today! So please join in and be a link in our love chain. Become the lover you want to have. ;) Use your phone, email, text messages, ecards, hugs, Facebook connections, or face-to-face conversations to reach out. Make February 14th, 2009 a day you'll never forget.

With love and blessings,

Debbie Ford