Heart As Compass

Has life ever punched you in the nose? If you’re normal, it absolutely has. While you were standing there bleeding, how did you interpret the experience? Let me help. You come into the world (before the punch) thinking “This is how it FEELS to be what I am.” Then…as life would have it (after the punch) there is no escaping yet another truth: “This is how it EMOTES to be what I had to become.” One...

Part of the reason we remember an egoless place is because we come from an egoless place. So, were not discovering this dimension we’re actually remembering it. This suggests that truly spiritual people have a pre-thought memory of being there and want to return. In contrast, religious people define their spirituality as a place where the ego lives. Once forgiven they get to keep their egos —even...

Tune in as Barrett Self and I discuss ‘the work’ and thoughts about meditation, self-development, and recovering one’s authenticity. Are you more than your thoughts? If so, 'what' is the more so many people refer to? In my estimation, the cognitive-behavioral movement has SO taken over the mental health model that professionals are less and less equipped to treat trauma and ego dysfunction. And at...

The transcendent quality of our current suffering is hard to ignore. I often have these feelings in nature. Today’s was no different. In my chest (not my head), I held the ramifications of what is happening to everyone around the world. In doing so, I felt hope. I know this is hard to imagine in these unprecedented times. You are invited to listen in and find out why.

It’s been said that the mind is not a container to be filled, but a fire to be kindled. Nobody fuels this fire better than those who choose to guide us along our journey. Mentoring is an archetypal activity that’s as timeless as life itself. The old and young coming together as opposites, often while secretly identifying with the other. This Innerlivesmatter minute honors the passing of my mentor.

Listen in as irmafrancis.com and I take a minute to reflect about your inner life.

Tune in as https://irmafrancis.com/ and I reflect about your inner life.

Tune in as https://irmafrancis.com/ and I reflect about your inner life.

Listen in as https://irmafrancis.com/ and I reflect about your inner life.

Listen in as https://irmafrancis.com/ and I reflect about your inner life.

Listen in as https://irmafrancis.com and I take a minute to reflect about your inner life.

Though the 'inner path' message predates most of the movements today by three decades, the language of ‘lives matter’ offered an opportunity to make the message current. ILM offers clarification.

The peace and contentment most of us seek is obtained when our inner world is congruent with the external, not the reverse. The genius of the human psyche is that when it is out of alignment, it sends a signal to the heart. If you didn’t know, this disturbance is because the ego is mistakenly viewing itself as our compass. Medication of such emotional experiences whether it be through prescription...

The question-answer portion of my talk today at the Center for Inner Peace in Pueblo, Colorado. Wonderful reception and great questions.

KLMR (in Lamar, Colorado) was kind enough to bring me on their morning show High Plains Focus. Be warned the show is 45+ minutes long. Ethan's questions help give you some insights to my teachings and some stories of my trek across America. Enjoy!

Intuitively, it certainly seems like a contemplative life in stressful times is a good thing. But, like any practice, it takes a certain level of commitment and is, of course, a process. Many would argue that there is no panacea or a “one size fits all” which I would agree. But, in my experience with trauma there is, at a minimum, an 'orientation to the task’ that is useful. By that I mean, a phil...

It has been my experience that spiritual growth is an endless process of suffering the ego awake. Said differently, healing the past so the we can fully live in the present. There are very specific moments of adversity that will slowly melt the ego’s defenses. Dissolving the ego is necessary because most of us are unaware that 'the way’ we chose to protect ourselves is often outdated. By this I me...

Research shows that another person’s moods are as easy to catch as their germs. Spiritual folks tend to call this ‘negative energy’ which is a little inaccurate. It is only negative if you are unprepared to 'catch’ or absorb it. There are ways to insulate yourself but, this takes practice. Importantly, the protection is grounded in ‘where’ you are internally at the time.

Did you know that 1 in every 113 people on the planet is now a refugee. That means that 44,000 people are displaced every day, or one person every three seconds. UNICEF reported in 2016 that nearly 50 million children were uprooted that year. The stress that accompanies being displaced or relocated is social isolation. Loneliness and reintegration causes PTSD. At the family level, the loss of pare...

Young people need to learn that a person’s inner life forms the foundation for their external journey NOT the reverse. It dictates the choices they make and determines their direction. Essentially, the relationship they’re having with themselves influences their connection with others. Despite this important truth, the culture is still not helping them to understand that these unique navigational...

Kirsten Powers, USA Today: Depressed and suicidal - something is wrong with our culture. What if the truth is that our culture is ill-prepared for the dis-ease of what it means to be human. The people that are taking their lives, just like the shooters in our schools, are the extreme of an undercurrent that has gotten worse in the past three decades. In short, human beings develop a psychospiritua...

What is the definition of evil? Typically, it is considered profoundly immoral behavior with other synonyms like wicked, bad, wrong, and sinful. The opposite or antonym for evil is, of course, good or virtuous. So, there it is… evil is a moral judgment that labels behavior as wicked or sinful. But, what about ethics. It turns out that ethics refer broadly to moral principles and represent a larger...

Most of us were taught in school that metaphors were poetic or rhetorical tools. Our innerlivesmatter because metaphor is how the soul observes and teaches us context. It does this by helping us to see the larger picture, something the ego is usually incapable of doing until it awakens—if ever. Everyone knows that a picture is worth 1000 words, metaphor is why.

Individuals suffering with addiction are more than their demons or wounds. In other words, they are more than their egos. A psychospiritual context espouses this absolute: addicts (just like you and I) are spiritual beings forced to resolve a psychological existence. Perfect in their imperfections, they have yet to learn that their dis-ease is self-correcting in nature, which is true for every hum...

I think it’s safe to say that to be connected to one’s inner life doesn’t begin to capture the depth of a lifetime commitment to spiritual growth. But...there is a single focus one can use as a beginning. By that I mean, living an ethical or compassionate existence versus one that is ego-driven. This would be no small deal. You can wait for a wake-up moment like trauma or you can take the accumula...