Wow! All of your comments on Friday’s post were amazing. If you’re looking for raw inspiration, head over to the comments section there. So many of you shared very personal anecdotes and I want to honor you for that. You all seriously rock! According to random.org, the winner of the May Cause Miracles giveaway is Kelsa! Congratulations, sister! Email me your mailing information to heather[at]fortheloveofkale[dot]com and I’ll get your book out to you ASAP.
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Inner peace is already inside of you. That’s right! You already have everything you need inside of you. Everything we desire is already inside of us. In our souls, there is love and peace. When we are operating from a true state of love and peace, we are living our authentic truth and listening to our inner guide.
When we are operating from a state of fear, anxiety, and/or guilt, we have detoured to fear and are listening to our ego. The ego will convince us that love and peace are attributes outside of ourselves and that we have to “go out and find them” in something outside of ourselves – whether it is food, exercise, a boyfriend or girlfriend, a friend, shopping, etc. A Course in Miracles refers to this “detour to fear” as separation. When we feel fear, anxiety, and/or guilt, we are making ourselves separate from others, and this translates to the belief that we are “less than” someone or “greater than” someone.
Before we can change our habits and tap into the love that already rests within us, we have to call on our inner guide for help. I love to say, “Inner guide, I know that I’m detouring to fear. Please help me get out of my own way. Show me the truth.” Then, we can go through these four rockin’ steps:
1.) Be grateful for the moment.
That’s right – even the ones that seem like a setback are really a lesson in disguise. We have the power to change our thoughts – and it all starts with gratitude. One of my favorite quotes about gratitude comes from Dr. Wayne Dyer. He said, “The essence of gratitude is understanding that every moment of your life is something to be grateful for…and everything that shows up in your life is something that you will want to be expressing a sense of gratitude about.” In this moment, we are experiencing exactly what we need to experience, and this moment is an opportunity to witness and learn something new. There is nowhere to go – everything you need is already here for you. Be grateful and be open to seeing the situation with loving eyes instead of fearful eyes.
2.) Not all thoughts are created equal…
A Course in Miracles teaches us that our ego speaks loudly while our inner guide is a soft whisper. When we have a fearful and separate thought (i.e. “I’m not good enough,” “I can’t do this,” “She or he does this better than I do”), the reason we believe it is because it speaks louder. We are ignoring our inner guide because it doesn’t speak as loudly. Truth speaks softly because it is certain. Fear speaks loudly because it needs to be loud in order to seem real. The Course says, “Thinking of your thoughts as equals will destroy inner peace.” When you have a separate thought, acknowledge that it is not a loving thought and ask your inner guide to help you see things differently.
3.) …but all of us are created equal.
These separate and fearful thoughts are what makes us separate from and fearful of each other. When we believe these delusional ideas of the ego, we see ourselves as separate from each other. I’ll give you an example: I was disappointed this morning when I saw that 36 comments were left on my last post. I wanted more comments. Why? Because my ego was telling me that having 360 comments makes me a better and more established blogger than having 36 comments. After the thought came, I laughed and said, “Ego, you are one crazy mofo!” 
I re-read every comment while asking my inner guide to help me see the truth. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible words in each comment and remembered that we are all one. The bloggers with 360 comments are awesome. And I, with 36 comments, am awesome. BAM.
4.) Be an extension of love.
Once we honor and accept the idea of “oneness,” recognizing and owning the fact that we are all equal, we have to extend the love we have just tapped into – because that’s what life is all about! Being of service is our purpose. Go perform a miracle! Call a friend and say, “Hey, how are you? What can I do for you today?” When you go grocery shopping, let the person behind you go first. Little things like that make a huge difference. That positive energy you give off and that miracle you perform will vibrate to others and create a chain of miracles.
Follow these steps and be patient. We will never get rid of the ego but we can develop tools to quiet its voice and learn to choose love more effectively. I hope this helps all of you and I hope that you have an amazing Sunday!
Stay lovely,
Heather
Oh wow, I wished I had 36 comments
I dance the happy dance when I have 12 comments 
I love eveything what you say in this post. Only since a few months I can hear my inner guide. The ego voice was so loud for way too many years. Thank you Heather for being such an inspiration!!
babe. i have been having SUCH a hard time the last couple of days with my ego. i thank you and the universe that you published this post today. it could not have come at a better time. i have a mohegan sun trip to review a restaurant planned for today and i have been so anxious and fearful of it. what resonates with me in this post is the lesson that truth whispers because it is certain. the thoughts in my head that are my ego have seemed to truly be screaming at me, but what a wonderful point – it’s because the ego has to TRY to convince me of its lies. because they are lies, and the truth is that i love restaurants and they are my passion and i get to share a meal with a close friend (maria!) and all THOSE things are real. the fear i’m feeling is fear of all things nonexistent.
bb i really can’t thank you enough. just the mere fact that you published this today when i really needed it is like a big message to listen to my ~ing, quiet as it may be, and stifle the ego with love. and i’ll start with love for YOU. <3 have a beautiful day.
I love the saying be an extension of love! I just got my copy of may cause miracles in the mail and I am so excited to start reading. I love how well you are spreading these messages of love and fighting our egos!
OH MY GOODNESS!!! I am SOOOO excited I won! Thank you so much Heather! When I saw my name I felt more than just excitement…I think I experienced my first miracle!
This is a great post! I love this…”Truth speaks softly because it is certain. Fear speaks loudly because it needs to be loud in order to seem real.” It really spoke to me. I’ve always wondered why that is, but never have done much to seek out the answer.
Again, thank you! I can’t wait to get into the book!
I have really been letting my ego win this past year and it has been beating me up left and right. The book is amazing and this post really spoke to me on how differently you can view on situation.
PS don’t worry, your blog is amazing! It won’t be long till you have 360 comments!
Thank you!!
Such a great reminder, Heather and one we can all learn something from. For one, I used to get down about the blog comments or comparing myself to friends who are making more $ than me/have a more stable career, etc etc. Then I realized that for every day I get slim to no comments on my blog, I get that *perfect* email from a reader whose life I’ve affected, or a heart-warming letter from a friend.
And while I may compare myself to friends who are more successful/more rich/etc. I am happy and grateful for everything I have – a career that lets me make my own hours, freedom, a wonderful boyfriend. There are two sides to every story!
I love love love this post
The graphic at the top of this post says it all! Wow, how often do we let ourselves get in our own way? If we can all remember to do this even part of the time, we will love ourselves so much more. Happy Sunday!
Thank you for this post. I just started a brand new job a little over a week ago and have been filled with feelings of fear, intimidation, nervousness, excitement, etc. It has been hard to balance all of these feelings and to focus on the positive. Your post has helped to remind me to be more grateful for each moment and to not let fear speak so loudly in my mind.
love that “not all thoughts are created equal” brilliant xoxo
BE AN EXTENSION OF LOVE.
amen.
Please don’t ever be discouraged by the lack of comments. I read every post, but rarely comment. Your words are very thought provoking and eloquent and I don’t usually have words to describe all the thoughts you cause to stir in my head. I love your positive energy and your thoughts and words continue to inspire me. My new year’s resoultion for last year (2012) was to be more positive and view things in a more positive way. You helped me to stay focused on that resolution or intention and I have made such improvements changing my attitude that even my husband has noticed the change! God bless!
THANK YOU, Jennifer. You’re so right, sister. I’m so honored to have helped you channel the positive energy that you already have inside of you! xoxo