Discover Your Energy Today

Jeffrey explores the difference between self-improvement and self-love. Can we have one without the other?

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I was reading a book on my Kindle & noticed some missing quotes. As I started to submit an error, “You missed a quote," I stopped myself. I realized that being in a perpetual mode of improving things can distract from enjoying the beauty of what's there. 

I'm reading this book to relax & enjoy the story. Why am I breaking that beautiful flow and focusing on such details? Maybe I can just let it go, maybe I could just let the small things be. 

I realized “Oh, this is a fun practice!" I can just let it be. 

Similarly, if I'm feeling something is off within, instead of constantly improving myself, I can say, "Oh, that's nice. I have a place where something's a bit strange, a bit funny.” then move on. Just let it be.

Earlier in my life, I thought I could improve myself to perfection. I don't know if it...

As you shift into a Spirit Mind perspective, the "outside" version of you may feel like it's just a story.

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I had an interesting insight today while looking at my own website, making it more aligned with what I'm offering. It occurred to me that every bit of information I have on there, even though it comes from me, is just a story. These are a series of stories about a character who is sort of Jeffrey from the outside. It's like I'm the director, producer, and actor in these little movies or scenes that I'm capturing. 

I haven't worked on my website in years. What struck me today was that all of these images are portrayals of Jeffrey as seen from the outside. It is fun to observe it from a distance. 

I have lived my whole life as Jeffrey, as if I were inside myself, living my life. Since I am not looking at myself from the outside, I have stopped thinking about that. My focus does not lie in how other people perceive me, or in trying to...

Only we can decide our true nature.

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Sometimes I'm reminded that it's really up to us to decide what our true nature is, or to choose what it is. Regardless of how much I try to spread peace, love, and joy to the world, there are times when I do the opposite. 

Afterwards, as I notice "Oh, I've hurt the people I care about & I've caused pain," there is an urge to check-in with myself "Am I a good or a bad person?" 

My logical mind kicks in & wants to simplify things, thinking of all the reasons why this happened & justifying my actions. "Here's why I got triggered. Here's the pain I'm carrying that hasn't healed yet." In my defense "I'm not always obnoxious. Usually, I'm a good person." 

What I've learned is that having an inner dialogue is crucial in these times. None of us are perfect & holding myself to perfection is not reasonable or healthy.

So, what do we do in situations like these?

For me, I have to choose...

Jeffrey shares how funny it feels when heavy energies from the past are released and why it’s so helpful to see this from a Spirit Mind perspective.

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This morning I was in the kitchen making oatmeal, and Hisami said, “Do you want me to make that for you?” Without knowing why, I said, “No, I got it. I can do it!” and was surprised by the amount of aggressiveness in my voice.

Then Hisami asked me something else about breakfast, and I said, “No, I don’t have time! I have to go to work soon.” with the same aggressive tone in my voice. Hisami looked at me with an expression of “Oh, interesting” and she went off to get ready while I finished making my breakfast.

I observed myself with curiosity, thinking, “Oh, this is really fascinating. The energy that I'm speaking from has nothing to do with this moment. At this moment my wife is kindly offering to help me make breakfast. Usually,...

I woke today up with a sense of moya-moya, as it’s called in Japanese. This is a feeling like "There’s something wrong... but I can’t quite pin it down... what it is exactly."

It was 4 am when I woke up, and I had this sense of “I’m not getting enough done, and maybe I’m too late. By the time I do finish, it won’t be in time or something bad is going to happen, because, I’m not as productive as I used to be.”

That's this feeling, this moya-moya that I was feeling today, but it comes in many different senses. It’s really interesting because today this sense comes from a positive change that’s happened in me, in the world, and in the way I view my personal life and my work life.

Before I was able to really put aside everybody else’s feelings and everything that was sort of real in my personal life, and just focus maniacally on my work. I was able to just get on the computer and bang out my work hour after hour,...

A friend sent me an article about how some people have an inner dialogue (an actual conversation or a monologue going on in their head). And some people don't.

In other words, some people think in spoken sentences in their head. Others don't think that way at all.

In the article, people with an inner dialogue were shocked to find that some people didn’t think like them.

"What?? If people don’t have a sentence structure running in their head all the time, then how do they think?"

On the other side, people without an inner dialogue said...

"Wow, that must be exhausting to have a conversation always going in your head."

I found this really interesting because I can relate. I have internal conversations going on all the time, and my wife Hisami doesn’t. So I'm in this situation every day - surrounded by two different ways of thinking.

Reading the article, I was reminded of all the students in the final chapter of my Duality training, where we are practicing...

Today I notice something surprising about my relationship between happiness and stress. Normally, I would think that stress means that I am not happy in some way. However, what I realized today is the reason I have stress in my life is that I am pursuing things that make me happy.

I am growing inside.
I am growing in my relationships.
I am growing in my business.
I am growing in my friendships.
And I am leaning into the things that bring me joy and happiness.

And because I am leaning into these things and also leaning out of my comfort zone at times, my stress is created from my pursuit of happiness.

And that's ok. It’s actually a good thing.

Over time I would like to notice the parts that are stressful, and wean myself off of those by getting some support from people, or just learn how to do something myself that I didn’t know how to do before.

And hence over time, this stress will go down and I will be left with these beautiful and joyful things that I am creating :-)

I...

Two friends this week reminded me of the power of shining light!

Recently, I've fallen into the trap of focusing on the negative. Seeing all the pain and confusion in the world, it's natural for me to want to help. And with the crises facing the world, it's easy to feel a bit helpless or worried for our collective future.

When I get this way, it feels like I'm walking in the shadows. It's easy to overlook the bright events and people in my daily life. If it continues, my own light dims, and I find my dim mood spreading to those around me. Which, of course, only feeds the cycle. This negative feedback loop is all too easy be part of.

Fortunately, it's also simple (if not easy) to change!

I was reconnecting with my life-long friend Bill, and he was inspiring me with his story of change. He said he's always felt that his purpose was to lessen the suffering of others, but he recently amended that to include spreading happiness as well.

I was reminded of advice I...

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In the video above, Jeffrey Allen shares a simple exercise to move away from our current mind-driven, stressful experience of life, into a more relaxed, spirit-driven life.

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I hope you're faring well in these disruptive 2020 times!

Although the world's external events can be disturbing to watch, this time is also an amazing opportunity for your transformation. The internal changes you make now will set the stage for your entire life moving forward.

I've made a short video to inspire you to pivot in your moments of despair, to look up from your interruptions and consider how you'd like your life to be.

It's healthy to grieve your losses, but please remember to catch your new opportunities too. This is a powerful time of change. Use it wisely!