Self-reflection is a practice, a path which breathes new life into our practice, protecting it from becoming just another enterprise or being mechanical. So I encourage you to waste no time in judging or being harsh with yourself if you have slacked off. The good news is that it’s always “now” in the mind of God, which means it’s never too late to reaffirm our intentions and begin again.

I am resolute in the absolute presence of God as my life!

All of the solutions to all of my challenges are already within me!

My beliefs and points of view shine the light of wisdom and compassion!

The evolutionary impulse that governs the universe propels the vision of my life!

Prosperity, health and right relations are my divine birthright fully expressed!

My life is a song of praise and thanksgiving! So be it! Amen!

When we have breakthroughs we move back and forth between prayer and praise. They intermingle and we realize we aren’t asking for anything but accepting all the gifts of Spirit that have already been given. We’re ready to be audacious in our acceptance of them because we’ve touched our true nature within. Everywhere you look you see the work of Spirit taking place. Praise bursts out from your heart and even your very breath becomes a prayer of inhaling divine energy and exhaling gratitude for your life. Life is seen as beautiful, all beings are beautiful.

Are you courageous enough to transform belief into realization? Then you’re ready to enter into audacious, scientific prayer, which I define as contact with Reality with a capital “R”. Audacious prayer will provide you with factual evidence that you have taken a human incarnation to live a great life. What else could be the destiny of the sons and daughters of the Most High?

When we read in the teachings of enlightened beings about their relationship with formless Spirit, we can see how they have given “form” to its masculine and feminine aspects. For example, in Hinduism each avatar has a consort, as in the Radha-Krishna principle, which unifies wisdom and love. For Sufi and Catholic mystics, God is often the Beloved. For Jesus, Spirit took the form of Father, and for Paramahansa Yogananda, that of Mother.

Likewise, each one of us can relate to the Divine in the form our heart most desires, trusting that It is equally eager to respond in like manner.

The purpose of spiritual practice is self-realization, a conscious state of oneness with Spirit through which the qualities of our true nature express in mind, heart, spirit, and action. When this becomes the motivation for our practice, we generate a surge of spiritual buoyancy that energizes our capacity for evolutionary growth.