Six things I learned from drinking plant medicine.

1) Happiness and life satisfaction can only be found inside oneself.  Even when we think happiness is coming from the outside, it can only ever be an internal and personal experience. So, stop looking to external circumstances to “make” you happy and don’t take everything so seriously.  Rather, laugh more and explore everything that life has to offer.

2) Live simply.  Focusing on the material trappings of life are distractions that can separate you from your essential and true nature.  When you recognize that so little is needed to be happy, you will find your true beingness.  Clean air, clean water, healthy food and love are really all we need- everything else has the potential to distract us and separate us from finding the peace within.

3) Recognize that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life.  Only then are you no longer at the whim of an uncaring and hostile environment.  Rather, you are the cocreator of your experience with the help of a loving universe.  Your thoughts and feelings shape your reality, so if you want to change your experience in life, start with changing your thoughts and feelings.  Perspective is everything.

4) Nothing is permanent- everything is fleeting.  King Solomon wisely said, “this too shall pass,” and it will.  Up close, life can sometimes feel like a tragedy, but with the help of time, we realize that life is, in fact, a comedy.  As you grow wiser, you will laugh at the drama, stories and situations you have manifested into existence throughout your time on this earth. 

5) Life doesn’t happen in the future, so why get attached to outcomes and future events?  When we are focused on things needing to be a certain way, it takes us out of the present moment where life is happening.  Relinquish pride because it is fleeting and easily bruised.  Flow with the river of life- be flexible, open and humble.   

6) Don’t allow yourself to be defined by others because they will inevitably try to fit you into their conception of what you should be.  Others conception of what you should be is always much less than you are.  When you try to be something for someone else, rather than aligning yourself only with your essential self, the light of your being will darken.  Rather, remain aligned with your most essential being, and your light will shine out to brighten up the world.