Often, we suffer because we have roamed so far from our true core that we don’t know who we are. We haven’t looked into our own vulnerable hearts. What do you need? What does your heart wish to tell you?

We may run from our inner awareness because we feel that if we actually gave attention to our hearts, we would be overwhelmed.

Our perceptions are what make our life sacred or monstrous. These perceptions create our point of view about who we are, who other people are, and about life itself. We engage in our life dramas every day and are partnered with other cast members to share life’s lessons. Our issues and fears cause us to protect our real needs and even to negotiate away our power.

We may respond to life by making adjustments that cause us to cut off essential parts of ourselves to stay present with people and situations. We may deny our emotions because we’re afraid our partner will leave us. We may do work that does not inspire us because it keeps us feeling secure.

We decide how we think the world is and create a list of judgments about ourselves and others. The items on our list feel very real even though we don’t always check out the validity of them. We assume that we have to accept something because “that’s the way it is or it has always been that way.”

Here’s the key: Your freedom lies in challenging your beliefs, in removing any mask that keeps you from being your real “you,” and in waking up from the trance you have been living in.