I'm sure just about all of us here on Evolver could agree that we are in the process of expanding and evolving our consciousness, collectively and individually. This list of books has been instrumental in helping me expand my own consciousness, and therefore add a higher vibration to the collective.

A very large obstacle to living a positive and expansive existence is one's self, the small self, the ego. The ego positions itself as all knowing, and benevolent. It's watching out for you, making everything about you. But in all truth it is really just getting in the way.

Culture. What a strange word. Do you know what culture is? Is it art? Is it beliefs? People? Food? Music? Ideas?

"Transforming our own behavior is ultimately the only thing we can be responsible for if we want to change the world.

"Ground yourself," Ms. Murphy-D yelled at me, "You'll never be any good to anyone until you're here in the moment. You're work needs to be done here," she continued, "you can't have your head in the clouds unless your feet are on the ground." I did my best to ground myself in preparation for the hands-on massage class session I was about to begin.

What do an ubiquitous cosmic serpent, a past-life lover rediscovered here and now, a giant swan as a personal space shuttle and a personal visit from Lord Shiva himself have in common?

As the day departs,
deflated dreams linger
and darting branches dance
among the shadows of divinity.

Dusk beckons
the last rays of the sun
to descend upon the dreams of night
and rekindle the sacred fire
which burns within.

Awakening once again,
ginko blossoms bloom,
closing their accounts
with winter's gloom.

And the broom of day
sweeps up the ashes of dawn,

Thank you, Divine Mother
for this beautiful opportunity to experience the world of desire.
Thank you, for the capacities I've been given,
for the ability to see through the veils which have been placed over my eyes.
Thank you for letting me fall in love,
and for my broken heart,
without which I would not have come to realize your divine beauty.
Thank you for each day, each breath.