August 2026

Dear Blessed One,

Awakening does not happen in the mind. It does not happen in the chaos of the mental realm... in the endless analyzing, judging, predicting, resisting, defending, and trying to figure everything out. And for sure, this world gives the mind plenty to chew on.

But notice what occurs when the mind becomes activated and there is strong emotion behind it. The thoughts begin racing. The body tightens. The story builds and gets louder. Before you know it, you are energetically participating in the very thing you say you do not want.

This is one of the great invitations of awakening... Stop feeding what you wish to be free of. This doesn't mean becoming indifferent to the world. It does not mean pretending injustice doesn't exist, turning away from suffering, or refusing to take action when action is called for. It means learning the difference between reaction and response.

Reaction is born from the noise. Response arises from Presence. To know the difference, you must be willing to release your ideas about how life should be unfolding. You must be willing to let that racing train of thought go speeding by without climbing aboard... This shouldn't be happening. What if everything gets worse? Why are people behaving this way? Someone needs to fix this. How can they not see what I see?

You don't have to stop the train. You simply don't have to get on it. Instead, direct your attention somewhere else. Bring awareness into your body. Feel the breath moving in and out through your nose. Notice a sensation in your belly. Feel the tightness in your shoulders. Notice the coolness of the breeze or the warmth of the sun on your skin. Feel your feet touching the earth. And stay there.

If the mind begins rumbling again... that's okay. Come back. Again. And again. And again. Come back to what is actually here. You may be washing dishes. Feel the warm water running over your hands. Feel the texture of the plate beneath your fingers. Hear the water. Notice the light coming through the window. Be there. Because there is nothing more holy, more sacred, or more important than this very moment. Not the moment you are imagining tomorrow. Not the conversation you are replaying from yesterday. And not the future your mind is trying desperately to control. This one. This breath. This body. This moment. This is where Presence lives.

And strangely enough, when you stop trying to mentally manage the world, you become much more available to actually serve it. Because clear action arises in Presence. There is a Creative Impulse within you that knows when to speak and when to remain silent... when to move and when to wait... when to help and when to step aside. But it is difficult to hear that quiet movement beneath the roar of an activated mind. Listen. What is actually yours to do? Do that. And let others do what is theirs to do.

Managing the way this entire world moves is not your work. Your work is much closer. What is right in front of you? What is your heart guiding you toward in this moment? Make the phone call. Plant the garden. Speak your truth. Hold someone's hand. Create something beautiful. Perhaps it is doing absolutely nothing for a little while. Follow that. And then follow the next thing.

You do not need to understand where all of this is going. You do not need to mentally solve the world before you are allowed to be at peace. You do not even need to stop the mind from thinking. Just stop believing you have to follow it everywhere it goes.

Let the train go by. Feel your breath. Feel your body. Feel this life that is happening right here, beneath all the commentary about it.

Come home. Purity is here. Clarity is here. Peace is here. Beauty is here. And so are you.

Much Love and Blissings to You!
shellee rae

"Rather than being your thoughts and emotions, be the awareness behind them." ~ Eckhart Tolle