It’s Christine here…

It’s 9:30 PM on Christmas Eve, and even though this is supposed to be “the most wonderful time of the year”, I just realized that I’d spent most of today lost in thought, caught up in my to-do list, and forgotten the true spirit of the season.

Even though I have so much to be grateful for, I recognize that I’ve been going through the motions today – taking care of my family, meeting other people’s expectations, and getting those last minute things done. I’d forgotten the true meaning of this season.

Can you relate?

Deep breath in… and let it go!

I believe that this can be a very spiritual time of year, if we choose to make it so.

This is a time of connecting to a LOVE that’s often forgotten. This love is within you at all times. This love connects us all together.

Whether you are surrounded by family, or experiencing Christmas alone, you can experience the true SPIRIT of Christmas…

Let Love Flow… from your fingers to your toes…. from your heart to your neighbours.

To connect with your spirit and love, here is a quick 10-minute Inner Body meditation with Brendon. Give yourself the gift of 10-minutes to experience the true spirit of Christmas!

Leave me a comment below and let me know what the Christmas Spirit means to you!

As we approach the Winter Solstice on Wednesday, December 21^st, this cycle is drawing to a close. The sun is setting on this cycle.

I think it is important to be aware of this shift and honour what it means to us and how it affects us.

In ancient times holidays were placed at these key times of the natural yearly cycle. They are still close if you look deeper than what to shop for.

For me, these final days of the solar year are a time of letting go. The falling away of the old, a dying of sorts. This is the winter of my life. And that’s okay. In fact it is a very natural cycle I feel each year and I have come to not resist it as much.

What that means is that the old ideas of myself, my purpose and how I express that are open to change. Like a snake shedding it’s skin, an old layer, and old image is peeled away. Thank goodness because the roughness and scratches that have been built up are gone and a fresh thing is about to emerge.

Time heals all wounds. I think this is how. With each passing year, the old fades away into an even more ephemeral memory. A date goes by without the recognition of an event that happened in the past on that same date. It is just another Tuesday and a new life is lived on that day, free from the past.

This is the gift of falling away. Clinging to what used to be prevents the full acceptance of what is, right now, and the accomplishment of future dreams and aspirations. Old leaves fall off the tree; new energy is being stored up for expansion at the right time. That time is the beginning of another cycle.

I always honour the Winter Solstice each year, in fact I look forward to it. It is the day when the days go from getting shorter to getting longer. It is the turning point from down to up. Even though “New Year’s” day shows up on our calendar on a day called “January 1^st”, in my heart it is not the real new beginning. The Solstice is.

The evening of the Winter Solstice is the longest night. The largest gap between the sun’s life giving light. In many ancient traditions people would keep candles going all night to stave off the darkness and carry the light into the new day and new year.

This is why every year, for the past 5 years we have held a Winter Solstice party at our home. We invite our friends and spiritual community to join us in generating warmth, love, joy and camaraderie in this darkest hour. The light of their smiles, the new friendships made, the open heartedness in the songs we sing makes me feel great. We do a ritual and ceremony that involves passing the flame of a candle to another person and acknowledging the light inside of them as the true light, the light that never fades regardless of the day of year. It is beyond the cycles of growth and decay, of contraction and expansion. The eternal flame that is in every being.

That’s the true gift of any falling away. Seeing what’s left. How precious it is and knowing it is still there, the same as always. I guess I forgot. Thank you for reminding me, Mr. Sun.

The next morning I get up early and go to the parking lot of a mosque on hill nearby. I have an amazing view of the horizon and wait in anticipation with my snow pants on and sipping my Tim Horton’s coffee. When the time comes I stand outside alone and behold the beauty of birth of the new Sun. The vivid colours of pink, orange and the energy of pure light penetrate my eyes into the depths of my being. I breathe in the cool air and bow to the greatness of life.

I smile and give thanks for the simple things, like the sun’s light growing the plants that I eat. The friends and family I celebrated the night before. A fresh start, a marker for a new beginning. And That which compels me to move forward into my next cycle, just like the sun, the earth, the moon and the stars in the sky whose persistent light is now shrouded by the glorious blue of this new clear sky.

Blessings on your journey around the sun,

Brendon

Please leave a COMMENT below sharing your experience of this time and shift. What are you letting go of? What is naturally falling away in your life? And how will you celebrate this? Share and give others permission to do the same!

We were honored to be invited to be the guest speakers at Unity Church of Calgary on Sunday, July 17th.

If you haven’t heard of Unity, Marianne Williamson was a minister of Unity in Michigan for 14 years. Unity honors the universal truths in all religions and respects each individual’s right to choose a spiritual path.

In this 37-minute talk you will learn about:

- why the internet as a powerful tool and it’s up to you to use it for positive or negative

- why the internet is the “one mind” and it’s important what you’re putting out and taking in

- Christine’s personal story of how finding online community saved her emotional eating issues

- the most powerful moment in online history, which was a spiritual awakening

- about Brendon’s very real and vulnerable sharing of the Oprah and Eckhart web class (yes… he’s moved to tears on stage)

How to Unlock the Keys of Inspiration Deficit Disorder

Jonathan Ellerby, PhD, author and speaker, CEO of the TAO Inspired Living Community, in the Riviera Maya.

He is “a guide to inspired living today”.

How would you know if you suffered from Inspiration Deficit Disorder?

Do you feel stuck in a job, relationship or living situation?

Do you feel like “something is missing” in your life?

If you feel drained, disconnected, or deflated then you may have a case of Inspiration Deficit Disorder.

The good news is: there is a solution… there is a cure!

During this 1-hour interview, you will shift from feeling like “something is missing” to feeling connected to who you truly are and what matters most.

Jonthan Ellerby, Ph.D is a Hay House author who has worked with super-successful business people, celebrities and the elite performers of our society. He delved into the inner-lives of these people while he guided and coached them in his role as Spiritual Director of Canyon Ranch. He is now the CEO of the TAO Inspired Living Community, in the Riviera Maya. What he discovered may alarm and surprise you.

When I met Jonathan in Calgary he helped to shift my own perspective on some business challenges I was facing. His intuition and intelligence shed a new light on my personal situation that I hadn’t seen before.

I am honored to bring his wisdom and message to share to you!

In this Webinar Interview you will learn:

• What Inspiration Deficit Disorder really is
• How this is the root cause of many health problems, lack of zest, feelings of being scattered and mild depression
• Simple spiritual techniques and everyday practices to revive Inspiration in your life
• How to find peace, meaning, or hope right wherever you are, today!

Visit Jonathan’s Website www.jonathanellerby.com

Learn more about TAO Inspired Living Resort: www.taorivieramaya.com

Let’s us Know YOUR STORY of dealing with or overcoming Inspiration Deficit Disorder. Leave a Comment below!

Recorded at the Calgary Body Soul Spirit Expo

In this video you will learn:

• How the gods gave us technology, and how it’s up to you and I to choose what to do with it
• Brendon and Christine’s stories of why they left their “secure” engineering cubicle jobs
• How to harness the power of the internet to help others, around the world
• 3 Steps to Let Your Light Shine online that are Free and will take you less than 15 minutes

If you enjoyed this talk LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW telling us your thoughts or SHARE IT with your Friends!

How to Unlock the Keys of Inspiration Deficit Disorder

Jonathan Ellerby, PhD, author and speaker, CEO of the TAO Inspired Living Community, in the Riviera Maya.

He is “a guide to inspired living today”.

Tuesday, June 21^st (Summer Solstice)

11 am Pacific / 12 noon Mountain / 1 PM Central / 2PM Eastern

The recording of this event will be available to those who register.

[webinar-optin]

How would you know if you suffered from Inspiration Deficit Disorder?

Do you feel stuck in a job, relationship or living situation?

Do you feel like “something is missing” in your life?

If you feel drained, disconnected, or deflated then you may have a case of Inspiration Deficit Disorder.

The good news is: there is a solution… there is a cure!

During this 1-hour interview, you will shift from feeling like “something is missing” to feeling connected to who you truly are and what matters most.

Jonthan Ellerby, Ph.D is a Hay House author who has worked with super-successful business people, celebrities and the elite performers of our society. He delved into the inner-lives of these people while he guided and coached them in his role as Spiritual Director of Canyon Ranch. He is now the CEO of the TAO Inspired Living Community, in the Riviera Maya. What he discovered may alarm and surprise you.

When I met Jonathan in Calgary he helped to shift my own perspective on some business challenges I was facing. His intuition and intelligence shed a new light on my personal situation that I hadn’t seen before.

I am honored to bring his wisdom and message to share to you!

In this Webinar Interview you will learn:

• What Inspiration Deficit Disorder really is
• How this is the root cause of many health problems, lack of zest, feelings of being scattered and mild depression
• Simple spiritual techniques and everyday practices to revive Inspiration in your life
• How to find peace, meaning, or hope right wherever you are, today!

Tuesday, June 21^st (Summer Solstice)

11 am Pacific / 12 noon Mountain / 1 PM Central / 2PM Eastern

Join us for this special Summer Solstice event and shed some light on your life!

[webinar-optin]

Learn more about TAO Inspired Living Resort: www.taorivieramaya.com

I was asked to deliver the Keynote Speech at the Body Mind Spirit Expo in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

In this video you will learn:

• how to wake up from the trap of the ego-mind and live your purpose starting today, without needing to spend 20 years in a monastery
• 2 simple techniques you can use anywhere to wake up from chaos or mental noise
• why the idea of “enlightenment” is the biggest obstacle to being enlightened today
• how the awakening process begins and how to navigate through the challenges of your spiritual transformation

I’d love to know your experiences or thoughts on this topic!

Please leave a COMMENT below, and SHARE this with your Friends!

Part of my journey in being a spiritual teacher has been learning one lesson: ” When the Universe asks you to teach, then teach”.

That’s what I did when Chandler Armstrong the organizer of the Body Soul Spirit Expo asked me to start every day of the expo with a guided meditation. I was delighted to and jumped right in. From then on, I started each day, in cities across Canada, Friday, Saturday and Sunday with a meditation like this. It changed it time, as I felt was called forth by the participants.

In this meditation you will:

• tap into the energy you need to start your day
• get grounded in what “Eckhart Tolle” calls your Inner-body energy – the gateway of Being
• feel yourself as peaceful spacious awareness

Enjoy and let me know how you feel after doing it! and SHARE it with your friends!

As we announced in April – Christine and I are writing a book! Yes, an actual physical book. After distributing tens of thousands of our e-books, articles, audio meditations and video lessons, it is time.

See our book announcement blog post here

We will be submitting 2 different book proposals to Hay House by June 28th. The energy is certainly building. We’ll keep you posted on how you can “Vote” and comment on which one you like best.

Our friend, and fellow Calgarian, Suze Casey was awarded a Hay House book contract in December and that’s what’s inspired us to go for it. If she can do it, we can do it!

See our Web-show interview with Suze on how she did it here

There are many important themes we are writing about like:

• How technology is key to our global spiritual evolution
• What it means to Let Your Light Shine Online with all the advances in the internet
• The spiritual laws of technology
• Yoga Ethics and the Sutras relating to the internet and technology
• How smartphones and computers have taken over many peoples lives
• The epidemic of people have trouble falling asleep and how spirituality can help
• Meditation in a digital commuter world
• Social Media ethics: how Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg betrayal compares to Alexander The Great’s genocide

All sorts of exciting topics relating spirituality, technology, history and practical wisdom to improve your daily life and navigate the new world of possibilities and distractions.

Christine and I are effective going “off to the woods” for 2 weeks” to finish the book proposals.

Wish us luck!