QUESTION: Last week's earthquake and hurricane seemed to unleash some of the most tremendously scary emotional landmines I have yet to encounter. The bottom of the well feels like it is so far away, and I feel fear like I haven’t experienced in a long, long while... perhaps never have I felt this in my years of higher consciousness. I don’t want any more ugly emotional monsters to emerge - are they my monsters?

I have no control over the trigger of this upswell - there is much suffering around me in my family. Often when turning for help or support or guidance, I find wonderful people who can’t hear or empathize too well - they talk a lot about the witness and dispassion and aversions, etc., it is good stuff - it is true - it’s only that sometimes I want or need to step outside of that talk, and just be, react, feel, like a plain ole human being.

ANSWER: The earthquake and hurricane certainly opened up a psychic floodgate in people’s consciousness, even though many are not aware of it - just the external devastation.

Really be gentle with yourself. You have done much work over many years. It is easy to forget that. Let yourself be human. I have spent so many years denying being a human being, seeking and finding all kinds of magical experiences, but alas all the true life and power is in fully inhabiting the human experience. Not getting lost in it, and not pushing it away, just being here. It is common for me to hear people say, “I can’t wait to be done with life on Earth”, which of course makes me laugh since aversion is the biggest attachment.

The dilemma with spirituality is that we usually turn to it from pain in life. In it, we are taught to push life away, deny it, try to overcome it or change it, but the truth is that acceptance is the only thing that marries the divine with matter. Be gentle and look in a mirror and love the lovely face you see reflected back.