Although golf is a competitive sport, every time I step onto the links, it’s not me competing against the other people in my group, it’s me versus myself. To me, the real game of golf is an inner game. What do I mean? When I play golf, I play in two boxes: my think box and my play box.

Whether you want health, wealth, love, freedom, abundance, or anything else in your life, it’s not about creating those things, it’s about generating them—and then ultimately becoming them. Generation is the key that unlocks the doors of creation and the one aspect of which is most often overlooked in the process of bringing new things, people, ideas, opportunities, events, and so on into your reality. The best part is, it’s not some guarded occult knowledge held by a select few. It’s nothing more than a formula—and for whatever it is you’re trying to bring into your life—it’s the same formula.

I’ve learned that one of the main reasons people talk poorly about their past is because their present life isn’t working. For most people, living in the safety and comfort of the known past is a lot safer than stepping out into the unknown future. Living in the past also validates all of the traumas and betrayals we’ve had in our life, not to mention it makes for a great excuse why we haven’t been able to change. What most people don’t realize, however, is that when we excuse ourselves for someone or something, we give away our power to that person, thing, or event in the past, and as a result, we give away our power and ability to change.

All creation begins with a thought. When we become aware that we don’t have something we want, we naturally experience the emotion of lack from not having what we desire. This is how we begin creating through our imagination. It is our natural, innate propensity to be creators at play. The more we think about these things and imagine what it would be like to have them, the more our brain naturally starts creating pictures and images of what our future could look like. This is what it means to dream the dream of the future.

As I mentioned in Part I of this article, to some degree or another we regularly see a small percentage of people manipulating or misrepresenting the teachings. While of course it’s not something they are necessarily doing consciously, it’s still unfortunate because I see them influence people around them into false understandings regarding the message of my work. I’ve witnessed these people making prophecies and predictions, or doing readings for others, and yet the truth of the matter is they are not actually doing the work because they think they are already “there”—but chances are many of them are not. My work is about creating a better life, so it’s important to examine the person’s life who may be making these prophecies and predictions to see if they are actually practicing what they preach.

Part I. One foot in the real world.

All the work we’ve been doing for the last 5 – 10 years has been about teaching our students how to achieve brain and heart coherence in the meditative process. The results have not only changed their biology, neurocircuitry, neurochemistry, hormone levels, gene expression, energy fields, and immune function but when developed into a skill, our students have been able to apply these principles to lead more effective lives.

The balance between intention and surrender is a delicate one. Intention is getting clear on what we want and surrender is trusting in the best outcome. On the one hand, if you over intend, you’re trying to make things happen; on the other, if you over surrender, then you’re lazy, lethargic, and you’ll make a minimal effort. It’s a bit of a razor’s edge, which is why I think we have to lay down the very thing we’ve used our whole life to get what we want, for something greater to occur. It sounds easy enough until we have to put it into practice.

If you don’t realize that we’re living in what are overtly challenging times, then you’re probably not paying attention. In the micro sense, it seems everybody I know is going through something on a personal level. In the macro sense, these personal journeys are being exacerbated by threats of nuclear attacks, political breakdowns, financial crises, racial tension, mass shootings, devastating earthquakes, erupting volcanoes, merciless wildfires, storm-of-the-century hurricanes, and more. It is indeed a sign of the times…but I’m not playing the game, and I invite you to do the same.

To enter into any relationship, you’d have to agree that the first step is to have the desire to be in a relationship. If your heart is not in the relationship, it’s not going to work because by their very nature, relationships are heart centered. To have a successful relationship, you’d want to be clear on what you want in that relationship, as well as who you are willing to be or become—after all, a relationship is a partnership. It’s a two-way street. In addition, you must believe you are worthy of the relationship you seek, and you must be willing to put in the time and attention to create and nurture it. For example, you can’t have a relationship with somebody for one day and expect them to be there for you all the time. You have to be willing to invest time and energy into creating a loving and trusting bond. To have a relationship with the Divine is no different.