Awaken Your Intuitive Genius by Sharina Gumbs

Next Level You: Breakthrough to Success NOW!

Author: Sharina Gumbs

Presented by: JAMES MACNEIL & LES BROWN

Link to full anthology as published on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Its-My-Time-ReclaimFreedom/dp/B0BV453JZB

Editing Contributions: Justina Walford & Daphne Taylor Street

with Street Media and Publishing

Photos & Design: Kim Sabate

Publisher: iLoveBooks, Canada

Copyright © 2023 Sharina Gumbs

All rights reserved.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all of the contributing authors for their courage, vulnerability, and for sharing their wisdom with us all. Most importantly, this book is dedicated to you our readers may you continue following your biggest dreams, manifesting your DreamLife.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to "Next Level You: Breakthrough to Success NOW!" featuring my "Guru Dad'' Les Brown and spotlighting a selection of outstanding thought-leaders. On these pages, we have curated specialized knowledge, captivating stories and success processes of these leading authorities in subjects that range from the life-altering power of forgiveness, creating a high vibration mindset, healing from deep despair, and how to manifest your purpose-driven DreamLife.

In this publication, we are focusing on the chapter entitled: AWAKEN YOUR INTUITIVE GENIUS by Sharina Gumbs.

Each chapter in this anthology is authored by a subject matter expert who has revealed their palpable personal stories demonstrating great courage, vulnerability, and wisdom. They each have also included their blueprints and specific action steps anyone can take to harness the fullness of these insights. These stories are designed to provide both illuminating insight and a shortcut for anyone on their personal self-discovery and empowerment journey.

Knowing that you will find yourself particularly impacted by these experts, each author has provided a brief bio and a way to connect with them for more information on coaching and other services they may offer. Additionally, if you are a subject-matter expert, coach, and/or thought leader, and you would like to have your story published in a future Guru Gold book, please go now to www.GuruGaggle.com/GuruDNA and complete our simple questionnaire.

Please dig into this life transforming feast we call, It's My Time!

James MacNeil

Pure Spiritual Intelligence, Author DreamLife Community, Founder GuruGaggle, CEO | iLoveBooks

SECRETS TO UNLEASHING YOUR HIGHEST POTENTIAL

Les Brown

Throughout the course of my life, I have seen stories that I never read, understood thoughts I never imagined to be possible, and seen sights that I thought were far beyond my wildest dreams! It all started with a seed of greatness that was implanted within me by my high school teacher, Mr. Leroy Washington. Was he talking to ME? Me? I? He? …the one who was labeled educable mentally retarded and coined as the “dumb twin” by classmates who feasted on my failure like a five-course meal?

“YOU HAVE GREATNESS IN YOU!”

His words clapped like lightning, jolting me into a future that I never dreamed for myself, and I had no other choice but to believe him! With beads of sweat developing on my brow and the hairs on my neck standing at attention, I was afraid to blink! Breathing was barely an option! I thought about what he said. I questioned it, and then I knew that even with my questions, I had no other choice but to believe him. He couldn’t be wrong! I needed him to be right with every fiber of my adolescent being. I felt like it was my birthright because as an adoptee, I never really knew what it felt like to have one. My identity was hanging in the balance as I contemplated his words. My very future depended on it! It was a life-changing awakening for me, an “AHA!” moment, if you will. He saw greatness in me, and his sight gave me new eyes to see! Eyes that set me on a course to go to the next level of my life and carried me into the highest potential that I could have ever conceived. I saw myself through his eyes. They would be my compass until

it was downloaded and developed into my own vision. After hearing and believing those profound words, I would never, ever be the same! I am not alone…You have greatness within YOU! You have what it takes to get to the next level and unleash your highest potential! Do you believe it? You should! You should not only believe it, but you should also know it and never let anything shake your faith! Be unstoppable! Be hungry! Know that it’s possible! Afterall…

Your potential is the birthplace of possibilities!

As I reflect on the lifelong greatness journey that I have been on and still remain, there are three secrets that helped me get there…

Three gems that I will share with you from my treasure chest of success: Be humble! Be watchful! Beware!

These three simple, yet profound, principles will carry you through trying times and transform you as you emerge into times of great triumph and fulfillment, so join me as we unpack three practices that will propel you into a life of achievement and endless possibilities!

Be Humble!

“Humility is the most difficult of all virtues to achieve; nothing dies harder than the desire to think well of oneself.” T.S.

Eliot, Playwright

In order to reach your highest potential, you must start low and stay low. What do I mean by this, you ask? Two simple words: Be humble. T.S. Eliot’s view of humility is an uncommon one, according to today’s standards, especially with the use of social media and the role it plays in giving people a platform to brag, exalt themselves, and impress others with their accomplishments and “snapshots” (you know, the pics that they share with the digital world that encapsulates their lives but filtered through a lens through which they want us to see them). Perception becomes a creative mechanism that is contrived by “the click of a button,” and pride is fueled by each “follower” and “like.”

If we’re not careful, we may begin to take our successes, whether in real life or virtually, and allow those mountaintop experiences to give way to a warped perspective in which we think that we are the greatest humans to walk the earth! This concept robs us of humility and self-awareness and is a dangerous mindset to adopt as we seek to go to the next level and unleash our highest potential. To some, starting low and staying low may seem

counterproductive to going to the next level, but actually, these two things coupled with focus and determination can allow you to successfully stay on the path that you need to take to get to where you desire to go.

Resisting the temptation to inflate your self-image based upon haughty beliefs is the best thing that you can do for yourself. There is nothing more limiting than pride. Pride is delusional and one-dimensional. Pride is self-driven, self-centered, and selfish. After pride has its way, an individual is left with little to stand on when the reality sets in that pride is a fraud, a mere illusion, and even worse, a distraction that blocks progress and kills potential. Show me a person who is humble, and I will show you a person destined for greatness! Be humble!

After one is humble, one must begin to watch…even if you don’t know what you are watching for, watch anyway, for surely, if you wait long enough, you will see it rise to the surface. Just wait for it…

Be Watchful

“Why not be silent, patient and watchful like a photographer?” Michael

Almereyda, Film Director

Most people think that going to the next level and unleashing your potential is wrapped up in what you do. However, if you look deeper, there is another factor to success that is often undervalued, underplayed, and overlooked. It is the factor of watching what is being done. Some of the greatest people to do anything amazing found themselves in the early stages of their evolution as a “fly on the wall” or a “damp sponge” soaking in everything that they could as it related to their point of interest. Many of us are so quick to run and do and be that we forget to be still and watch. It is in the waiting and in the watching that one can learn valuable insights and lessons that will carry them from one point to another.

Consider Michael Almereyda’s analogy of a photographer. Think about the insight, the time, the patience, the stillness, the silence, and the presence of mind to capture what is seen and record it for future reflections that take place within the mind of a thoughtful photographer. And so it is with you and me. We are photographers photographing our journey, yielding to opportunities, and discovering the beauty in things unseen that go beneath the scope of most onlookers. Photographers don’t just look. They study, they pause, they capture, and they showcase what is seen in a beautiful and creative way.

As you move through life taking “snapshots” of your mentors, life lessons, the things that you are studying and putting together, your successes and failures as a collection of “stills,” what story do your photos tell you about yourself and your life? What have you learned that can carry you from one level to the next? What do you need to take up to go with you as you unleash your potential, and what do you need to “crop out,” get rid of, and leave out of frame? What are you focused on, and what do you need to blur out and allow to remain in the background? Think like a photographer. Adjust your focus. Be still. Get the shot and take a moment to look at the beauty of what you captured before you share it with the world. Your life will reflect successes that few have seen when you are willing to see the unseen in the early stages of greatness! Be watchful! Beware!

“I’m very cautious of people whose actions don’t match their words.”

-Anonymous

Greatness isn’t just a prerequisite to going to the next level and unleashing your potential. Greatness begins with caution! People who do great things are calculated and cautious because they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that greatness is costly. If doing and achieving great things doesn’t cost you anything, you’re not doing it right. Some people run head first into brick walls and “knock themselves out of the race” when they could have hopped over the wall or avoided the wall altogether if they simply would have looked for the warning signs that read something like this: “STOP!,” “SLOW DOWN!,” “YIELD!,” and a tiny whisper that sometimes rises up from deep inside of us that whispers a cautionary word that can free your future and place you on a road that will lead to numerous victories if one is willing to listen “BEWARE!”

Don’t get me wrong, there are times when greatness will require you to be fearless. Yet, there are times when caution and discretion is a healthy meal to munch on as you unleash your highest potential. There are many roadblocks, hindrances, and obstacles that can stand in the way of your mission as you strive to go to the next level. One chief deterrent can be an invisible and internal enemy, a sneaky little rascal that can take out your dreams and knock you off course like the flicker of a match in a windy forest. This culprit is one word hypocrisy. Beware of hypocrisy! Oftentimes, hypocrisy lures an individual into a dull state of numbness and slumber that can leave them defenseless and cause integrity to hide away, behind massive accomplishments, unchecked. When hypocrisy hides or, rather, is masked by

successes, hypocrisy gets comfortable and begins to grow and expand into a beast that is hard to contain.

Hypocrisy ruins credibility, limits effectiveness, and renders one's words useless to the ears of people who would otherwise listen were they not blinded by the obvious. Hypocrisy is a critical agent of suffocation that can take your dream and drain it down to the last drop if it goes unaccounted for and neglected. The best way to defeat hypocrisy is to face it head on and have a team of people you love and trust who can hold you accountable. Have check-ins to measure your words and your actions. Self-evaluate ways in which you can better manage underlying issues that don’t match your mission or mirror who you truly are and where you desire to go. Going to the next level means being levelheaded and honest with yourself. Give yourself the grace to look hypocrisy square in the eye and make the necessary changes so that you can move past it and become a better, more refined, and learned version of you. You owe it to your future self to be as self-aware as possible so that you can continue to evolve into the person that you are destined to be. In order to go to the next level and attain your highest potential, you need to take hypocrisy out and recognize it for what it is…Beware! You have a great future ahead of you! As you strive to get there, be wise and, by all means, be cautious. Heed the lessons so that you aren’t lessened by the grip of hypocrisy! Avoid it at all costs so that it doesn’t cost you your potential… Be wise! Flee hypocrisy! Beware!

Carry these three tools in your arsenal as you navigate your journey to the next level and reach unlimited potentialBe humble! Be watchful! Beware!

Your future depends on it…

As a renowned author, speaker, television and radio personality, Les Brown has risen to national prominence by inspiring others to shake off mediocrity and live up to their full potential. With no formal education beyond high school, Les has distinguished himself as an international authority on harnessing human potential.

Born a twin in low-income Liberty City in Miami, Florida, Les and his twin brother were adopted when they were six weeks old by Miss Mamie Brown. As a single woman with a big heart, Miss Brown had very little education or financial means. With young Les’ inattention to school work, his restless energy, and the failure of his teachers to recognize his potential, Les was misdiagnosed as educable mentally retarded. Suffering for years by the label and the stigma, Les was nevertheless driven by his passion to learn and his hunger to achieve his goal as a radio disc jockey.

In a humorous twist of fate and cunning, Les rose from a hip-talkin’ morning DJ to a broadcast manager; from voracious reader to author; from community activist to community leader; from political commentator to

three-term state legislator; from a banquet and nightclub emcee to a premier keynote speaker for Fortune 100 companies.

Award-Winning International Speaker & Television Host

In 1986, Les entered the public speaking arena on a full-time basis and formed his own company, Les Brown Enterprises, Inc. Aimed at individuals and organizations, the company provides motivational products, personal development programs, speaker development workshops, keynote presentations and interactive business trainings

In 1989, Les received the National Speakers Association's highest honor: The Council of Peers Award for Excellence (CPAE). In addition, he was selected one of the World's Top Five Speakers in 1992 by Toastmasters International and became the recipient of the Golden Gavel Award.

Commencing in 1990 and recording the first in a series of six PBS specials, Les launched You Deserve which was awarded a Chicago-area Emmy. It became the leading fundraiser for pledges to PBS stations nationwide.

In 1993, Les became the host of his own nationally syndicated daily television talk show, The Les Brown Show, in which he focused on solutions to the day’s challenges rather than the problems.

Bestselling Author & Radio Personality

Recognized internationally, Les is the author of four bestselling books: Up Thoughts for Down Times, Live Your Dreams, and It’s Not Over Until You Win and, Fight for Your Dreams.

A leading authority in understanding and stimulating human potential, Les’ electric and powerful delivery, stage presence and personal insights have built his international brand of “It’s Possible.” Les' customized presentation is driven by his approach to each unique audience. Before he gives a speech, he builds a speech. The end result is that Les teaches and inspires each audience to new levels of awareness and achievement

For more information, contact ARISE BY VNP 954-724-0900 –arisebyvnp@hotmail.com

FOREWORD 2: JAMES MACNEIL

Everything Is Perfect & Everything Is Improving

EVERYTHING IS PERFECT & EVERYTHING IS IMPROVING!

James MacNeil

Read those words again slowly, “Everything is Perfect and Everything is Improving!” and ask yourself, could this be true? Your brain wants to reject it in light of hatred, war, and suffering. “Everything is Perfect and Everything is Improving!” is a mantra and a “koan.” A koan is a paradoxical riddle designed to, when meditated upon, invoke enlightenment.

I invite you to expand your consciousness and reconsider your perspective on the meaning of life and the meaning of the universe because, according to Max Planck, the originator of Quantum Theory, “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

The “problem” with the traditional perspective on our world, our sciences, our religions, and ourselves is a “problem mindset.” We have approximately 10,000 religions, countless spiritual belief structures, and innumerable sciences and they all have this fatal flaw in common: they assume the “problem mindset.” Who says sunshine is better than rain, more money is better than less money, and a life of ease is better than one with drama and trauma? The rain dancers, the happy poor, and those who have transformed themselves through difficulties into positive world change agents would suggest that this universe exists with the “Yin Yang” duality that allows every blessing to be a curse and every curse to be a blessing. The only real problem, therefore, is not in the world but in our judgment of the world and of ourselves producing a fundamental state of discontent. Judgment causes separation psychologically and spiritually. The most commonly used Greek word for “sin” in the Bible is “hamartia” which means

“separation.” The problem mindset is one of judgment, which causes separation from DivineLove, other people, and our higher selves.

Welcome to my monstrously reduced and absolutely audacious explanation of the universe, the spirit world, and the purpose for this existential experience we call life, which is my attempt to prove that Everything is Perfect and Everything is Improving, including YOU

Let's begin at the beginning! Our quest as a species to understand ourselves, our universe, and the spiritual realm began with Astronomy and Astrology

ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY

What we now call “Astronomy” is the first of the sciences appearing in the earliest records of our history, from Ancient Mesopotamia, India, Egypt, Greece, and China. In these ancient worlds, astronomy and astrology were one a single, unified approach to explaining the universe. There was no distinction between what we now refer to as science and spirituality.

As the abundance of theories and frameworks expanded in each region of the world, these streams of thought split like a major river into countless streams when researchers would expand on one element thereby building it into its own distinct body of thought producing various sciences, spiritual traditions, and religions. These divisions with specialized knowledge and focus dramatically increased efficiency, depth, and development. From these origins we now have the aforementioned religions, spiritual belief structures, ancient traditions, and varieties of sciences.

SCIENCE AND RELIGION

Each science, religion, and spiritual stream brings its unique treasures to the whole. The Age of Enlightenment in the 17th century and the Scientific Revolution of the 18th Century drove an important wedge between science and religion creating what Stephen Jay Gould called "Nonoverlapping Magisteria" (or NOMA) that is, two distinct realms of inquiry, investigation, and authority, one focusing on facts and the other on values. This division between science and spirituality was the best thing that could have happened for our scientific progress. Until then, it was too easy for scientists to hide behind the “God” answer to all remaining mysteries. The separation demanded deeper scientific understanding by removing the “God of the Gaps” option (that is, appealing to God as the explanation wherever and whenever there is a gap in our scientific knowledge). Each religion and spiritual stream, by seeing itself as The Truth,

forced them to seek the answers to everything within their unique framework and belief system

When finite minds seek to understand infinite mysteries, they will likely appear to disagree. Disagreement, or perceived disagreement, provides the opportunity for next-level understanding, and that excites me greatly. Sadly, these sciences and spiritual traditions have been built in the “problem mindset” which causes judgment and separation and therefore perceives differing perspectives as threats and justification for aggressive disputes with an “either-or” binary position rather than a “yes, and” inclusive position.

We, as individuals and as a species, are on the same team, and we can lovingly and openly bring our gifts of insights and perspectives to the whole and openly and curiously learn from each other. We unlock the vault of infinite knowledge when we seek the truth in love and speak the truth in love.

THE UNIFIED F IELD THEORY

The idea of a “Unified Field Theory” is an exciting quest to fully understand the power of the universe. A group of scientists began attempting to formulate what they called The Unified Field theory in 1912, and they were soon joined by Albert Einstein. In physics, there are believed to be four fundamental forces in the universe: gravity, electromagnetism, strong nuclear, and weak nuclear. At the time of this writing, there are physicists who speculate the existence of a fifth force called “quintessence” (remember this word). When a force is described by a mathematical formula, the formula representing the force is referred to as a “field.” The unified field theory, therefore, is a quest to create a master mathematical formula that describes all forces in the universe. Albert Einstein’s proposed Unified Field Theory, which was a marriage of The Theory of General Relativity and Electromagnetism, has been generally concluded as unsuccessful. Unified Field Theory has given rise to many attempts to produce a grand unified theory including String Theory and M-Theory and, most notably, The Theory of Everything which seeks to merge Einstein's Theory of General Relativity and Max Planck's Theory of Quantum Mechanics. At this time, The Theory of Everything has yet to be proven successful.

THE REAL THEORY OF EVERYTHING

My assertion is that any theory of “everything,” to be complete and successful, must include the spiritual/metaphysical dimension (the prefix

“meta” in the word metaphysical means that which exists before, after, and/or beyond the physical world).

When the human quest for understanding began, there was an assumption that everything was connected from the basic elements of the universe to the human soul and the spiritual realm. Albert Einstein, founder of the Theory of General Relativity, and Max Planck, the founder of Quantum Mechanics, agree.

Albert Einstein believed in the existence of a divine force that permeates and rules the universe. He felt understanding this force, however, was “too vast for our limited minds.” When asked what he believed about God, Einstein stated, “We see a universe marvelously arranged, obeying certain laws, but we understand the laws only dimly. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that sways the constellations.”

Max Planck (the founder of Quantum Mechanics) stated, "As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear-headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force… We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind This Mind is the matrix of all matter.”

THE SPIRIT WORLD

The spirit world is both transcendent and immanent which means it exists beyond the parameters of time, space, and matter, and at the same time, it penetrates and permeates the entire physical universe. The spirit world created the universe including time, space, and matter.

THE UNIVERSE WHAT IS EVERYTHING MADE OF?

Our understanding of matter, all that physically exists, started with the classical elements of water, earth, fire, and air. There were many deep, rich, insightful, and lasting efforts to uncover and understand a “fifth element” or “quintessence” (still more to come on this).

The quest to understand “what’s that made of?” finally produced the periodic table in 1869. Scientists have identified 118 elements, made up of atoms which are made of a nucleus, protons, and electrons.

Thirty-one years later, in 1900, Max Planck went even smaller to the subatomic level and birthed Quantum Theory. The word “quanta” means “how much?” The question Planck was asking and answering was “what is

the minimum amount of energy that could be gained or lost by an atom?” Planck named this minimum amount the “quanta” (plural of quantum). For example, one photon of light carries exactly one quantum of energy.

According to Wikipedia, we now have the following subatomic elementary particles:

“Six ‘flavors’ of quarks: up, down, strange, charm, bottom, and top; Six types of leptons: electron, electron neutrino, muon, muon neutrino, tau, tau neutrino; Twelve gauge bosons: the photon of electromagnetism, the three W and Z bosons of the weak force, and the eight gluons of the strong force; and The Higgs boson.”

Thus, humankind moved from believing in four elements (earth, wind, water, and fire) to five elements (adding quintessence) to 118 elements (the periodic table) while also observing that these elements are all really just made up of the same three atomic elements (protons, neutrons, and electrons), and then we discovered numerous subatomic particles.

Nevertheless, behind it all, something is constant…

EVERYTHING IS ENERGY

Einstein’s most famous formula, E = mc2, fundamentally asserts that energy and matter are interchangeable as they are different forms of the same thing. All matter is made up of atoms and subatomic waves and particles which, according to Einstein and quantum mechanics, are all made up of energy. These subatomic particles and subatomic waves are better defined as “energetic occurrences.” These energetic occurrences are the building blocks of every atom which are the building blocks of every element. Therefore, Einstein and the scientific community, in general, have concluded that everything is energy.

The Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics agrees that the universe is made up of energy. This energy is subdivided into 27% dark matter, 68% dark energy (the term “dark” means it's currently unobservable and thereby unavailable for research and study), and 5% “visible” matter and energy. The universe is made up of energy, some in physical form and some not, some observable and some not.

The fact that our greatest astrophysicists are currently only able to observe 5% of the known universe is a helpful reminder that humility, curiosity, and openness are the only reasonable postures for this discussion

ENERGY IS A SPIRITUAL SUBSTANCE

Quantum physics has produced over one hundred years of truly shocking experiments and conclusions to date which reveal, amongst many things, that energy, the building block of the universe, is a spiritual substance. To support this conclusion, I will refer to just two of these incredible discoveries:

1. “The Quantum Leap” The term “quantum leap” refers to the occurrence when an electron, while circling the atom within what is called a shell (consistent circle) transitions to another shell with no movement and no time lost, simply disappears from one location and reappears without delay in another location, thereby transcending the rules of time, space, and matter understood in classical, Newtonian physics. Although the term “miracle” is generally associated with metaphysics, this miracle occurs within the realm of quantum physics at the subatomic level.

2. “Quantum Entanglement” The term “quantum entanglement” refers to a physical phenomenon that occurs when a pair or group of subatomic particles comes into contact in a way such that the quantum states of these particles become, in a way, as one. When these entangled particles are separated, even by a large distance, the actions of either one is instantly mirrored by the other. This discovery was vehemently challenged by Einstein because it appeared to violate his conclusion that nothing moves faster than the speed of light, yet these entangled subatomic particles appeared to be communicating faster than light. The conclusion is that they are not “communicating,” but they are, in a sense, one entangled particle existing in two locations, thereby transcending the laws of time, space, and matter. Einstein called quantum entanglement “spooky action at a distance.”

These subatomic particles, made of energy and behaving outside of the rules of classical physics and the Newtonian laws of time, space, and matter, reveal that the energy, that which makes up this entire universe and everything in it, including you, is a metaphysical, or spiritual, substance.

WORLD RELIGIONS—THEISM, PANTHEISM & PANENTHEISM

Traditional theism holds that God is the life and love-giving benevolent force that created the universe. While he may continue to interact

with it, he remains clearly distinct from it. This has been the most traditional and familiar concept of theology.

Pantheism is the belief system with which Albert Einstein most aligned. Pantheism (literally, all-God-ism) holds that physical reality and divinity are one, that everything in the universe is part of an all-present divine benevolent force, a “universal substance, material as well as intelligence, that fashions all things that exist out of its own essence,” or put simply, God is the universe. The fact that the universe is made of energy and energy is a spiritual substance clearly supports this concept.

Panentheism (literally, all-in-God-ism) holds that God is the universe and transcends it. Panentheism embraces the traditional concepts of theism, which hold that God created the universe and exists beyond the parameters of it, as well as pantheism, which sees God as the universe. This may be seen as a new idea, based on the latest insights of quantum physics, but ideas of panentheism appear in various forms in most religions and sects, including Sikhism, Hinduism, Sanamahism, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

“Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realizes that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words: ‘Ye must have faith.’”

Max Planck Founder of Quantum Physics

The scientific community generally agrees that the universe is made up of energy. Quantum physics has proven that energy is a metaphysical substance. World religions generally agree that the universe is made up of a divine substance, benevolent and loving force, or God. It’s therefore reasonable to conclude that the entire universe is made up of a life-giving, spiritual substance. Some call this Qi, Chi, Ki, Prana, Pneuma, Mana, Lüng, Ruah, Vital Energy, Heavenly Father, Divine Mother, Brahman, the Tau, the Almighty, the Holy Spirit, DivineLove, or simply, God.

THE SPIRITUAL REALMS, DIMENSIONS, HEAVENS, AND QUINTESSENCE

What connects this physical world, made up of a spiritual substance, to the spiritual world? This physical time/space experience can be viewed as a temporal dimension, a construct, a temporary manifestation within the spirit world. The question, therefore, is, how can we become more fully

awakened to the spirit world, the metaphysical reality, and all its dimensions while experiencing this time/space existence? This awakened state is known in spiritual traditions as Enlightenment, Entire Sanctification, Regeneration, Spirit-baptism, Spirit-filling, Moksha, or Wu.

What can we know about the ever-present, yet generally undetectable, spiritual dimensions?

Quintessence, literally meaning “the fifth element,” has been used to describe everything that didn't fit within the elemental categories of air, earth, water, and fire and quickly became the word to describe the spiritual world. The word aether, meaning “pure air,” became synonymous with quintessence both in spiritual and scientific applications. (Aether was also the name of a god in Greek mythology.) The term aether was used in scientific application to “fill in spaces” where scientific understanding was incomplete, including the substance that filled the vacuums of space to allow light to travel which they called a “luminiferous aether.” The belief in this luminiferous aether continued until disproved in 1920 with the help of quantum physics which revealed that photons have both wave and particle functions.

The primary use of the terms aether and quintessence now describe an ever-present, yet undetected, set of spiritual realms, dimensions, or heavens. This idea of a multi-dimensional reality with spiritual planes and unseen realms reappears throughout spiritual history in various forms and various faith traditions. These spiritual planes are called “Akasha” in traditional Indian cosmology, “Ku” within Japanese Godai tradition, and “The Heavens” from ancient Mesopotamia religions along with the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The number of planes, dimensions, heavens, or levels of spiritual consciousness is quite varied as are their descriptions with the most common number being seven.

Here’s a brief introduction to two of these dimensions that will unlock your Perfect DreamLife:

1. Pure consciousness, the quantum field, the unified field (spiritual use of the term, not the Einstein version), atman, quintessence, the aether is where we go when we transcend this time/space egoic experience through deep relaxed meditation. Dr. Joe Dispenza says, “When you can become no body, no one, no thing, nowhere in no time, you become pure consciousness. This is the door to the quantum field.” The creator of Transcendental Meditation (TM), Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, said, “The unified field is fundamentally a field of consciousness. The field is known as atman, meaning ‘pure consciousness,’ or ‘self,’ since the unified field constitutes the deepest reality and hence the true identity of everything in nature.”

2. Collective consciousness, the astral plane, akasha, or the Akashic record according to Theosophy, “the Akashic record is a compendium of all universal events, thoughts, words, emotions, and intent ever to have occurred in the past, present, or future in terms of all entities and life forms, not just human.” Computers and mobile phones today enjoy virtually limitless access to supercomputers and the storehouse of human history and understanding. These devices are called “thin-clients” meaning that they do not require the storage capacity or computer power to accomplish what requires monstrous storage and supercomputing by freely accessing these supercomputers around the world. In a similar and sexier way, we have access to connect to all living things from all time as well as infinite wealth, wisdom, and power.

MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL! WHAT’S THE PURPOSE FOR THIS UNIVERSE AND OUR EXISTENCE?

Based on this monstrously reduced overview of science, religion, and the spiritual traditions from the beginning of recorded history up to and including the most recent insights of quantum mechanics and the spiritual interpretation of those insights, we can form some conclusions.

The spiritual traditions and religions generally agree that the universe was created by, and is governed by, a benevolent life-giving energy often referred to as “God,” herein referred to as DivineLove, and that divine energy transcends time, space, and matter. The scientific community generally agrees that the universe and everything in it is made up of energy. Quantum mechanics has proven that this energy transcends time, space, and matter. Therefore, I feel it’s reasonable and obvious to conclude that science's “universal energy,” which transcends time, space, and matter, is the same “DivineLove” energy of religion and spiritual traditions. Religions and spiritual traditions have committed to mastering methods of connectingg with DivineLove and the multidimensional spirit world, through meditation and prayer. They teach us that we can achieve states they call enlightenment, awakening, entire sanctification, regeneration, spirit-baptism, spirit-filling, Moksha, or Wu, referring to the moment or process by which we accept that we are spiritual beings currently existing in this physical form and we choose to reconnect with DivineLove.

The next reasonable question is, why? Why was this universe created? Why were we created? What’s the purpose for our ability to connect to DivineLove and have infinite wealth, wisdom, and power flow to us and through us?

OUR SPIRITUAL IDENTITY

We are spiritual beings living in physical form. I believe the curious case of consciousness is sufficient to suggest, if not prove, that we are spiritual beings. In all our scientific quest for understanding, including neurosciences, we have yet to solve the mysteries surrounding our consciousness. We don’t know where it comes from, where it begins, or where it resides.

Our consciousness appears to be able to jump the timeline and foresee things which we later refer to as experiencing “deja vú,” and we “know things” we have never experienced or have never been taught. The spirit world transcends time, space, and matter. Therefore, jumping the timeline alone would strongly support the conclusion that we are spiritual beings.

“You are not a physical being having a spiritual experience, you are a spiritual being having a physical experience!”

Dr. Wayne Dyer

THE MASTER PLAN

The Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 B.C.E.) was the first to summarize the primary problem confronting anyone who wants to believe in a good and loving God. His framing of the problem has become known as the Epicurean Dilemma. Here’s a rough glimpse at his reasoning:

Most God-believers want to believe in a God who is both allpowerful and all-loving, but how can this belief fit with the world we experience all around us? Our world is filled with hate, crime, violence, and all kinds of evil and suffering. If God is all-powerful (“God is great”), he must have the power to do what he wants, and if God is all-loving (“God is good”), he must want to eradicate evil and suffering. So, why does evil exist?

The error of the Epicurean Dilemma is the presupposition that this universe, this time/space experience, is God’s Divine Masterpiece, the best God can do. That is, the Epicurean Dilemma begins with the assumption that this universe is God’s best; either we accept it as his Masterpiece, or we reject it as a failed experiment. However, the foundational assumption is wrong. This time/space experience is not the Divine Masterpiece but the Divine Master Plan en route to the Divine Masterpiece.

We are not experiencing the Divine Masterpiece but rather the Divine Master Plan!

PURE LOVE

DivineLove in Ancient Greek is agape, and the Judeo-Christian wisdom literature asserts that God is agape. Agape is defined as a creative, life-giving, need-free, unconditional, and deliberate striving for the other's greatest benefit. Just like intimate love between humans produces new life and then forges a new bond of care and nurture for that new life, the nature of DivineLove is to create life and then care for its creation. The purpose, therefore, for this time/space experience is Love. We are created by Love for love. We’re created not simply to exist but to live in a loving relationship with the Divine.

For love to be pure, all parties must freely choose to be in the loving relationship. This universal time/space experience exists with all its complex beauty and tragedy for you, me, and all of us to choose to join DivineLove in the Divine Masterpiece. The terms enlightenment, awakening, and being born-again refer to the process of accepting our reconnection to DivineLove.

Lastly, if this entire time/space experience is simply a cosmic dating process for us to reconnect to DivineLove, why, after the moment of awakening, do we continue to exist here?

The purpose of this universal time/space experience is to provide us an opportunity to freely choose to connect, or reconnect, with DivineLove. This (re)connection opens the way for many miracles in the individual’s life, including the unveiling of one’s life’s purpose.

Let me illustrate by sharing my personal experience with my DivineLove connection.

When I, at the age of 20, experienced a spiritual awakening, my life trajectory completely changed. I came from a challenging background with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Dyslexia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), due to childhood trauma. (As an interesting sidenote, I misspelled almost every single word in the previous sentence.) I couldn’t speak in sentences until I was 9 years-old, when I was mercifully sent to a special education speech coach in school. I was functionally illiterate until I was 21 years-old and I still have no college or university degrees. As a child I experienced drama and trauma including being beaten, hung, and almost drowned. I was

suicidally depressed when my awakening occurred. I found healing, purpose, and a miraculous life through what I now call Pure Spiritual Intelligence.

As my heart opened to love and healing and my eyes opened to seemingly limitless possibilities, I was overtaken by the desire to share the love. I wanted everyone to experience what I had experienced. I was transformed from a desperate and hopeless person to an abundant person with an uncontrollable compulsion to positively impact the world around me. My state of abundance at 20 years old wasn’t financial but something else. The abundant mentality activates altruism and thereby, by serving greatly, eventually produces the abundant reality in various forms. In fact, the word “deserve” literally means “from service.” When we serve greatly, we naturally “deserve greatly.”

With this in mind, friendly people have more friends; the farmer who plants more seeds will likely enjoy a greater harvest, and so it follows that the secret of success in the marketplace is to profitably solve problems because as we serve greatly, we naturally “deserve greatly.”

The wisdom literature of various faiths promises that when we are reconnected with DivineLove, we will experience, express, and expand love, joy, and peace. As we master our connection and our uniquely gifted service, infinite wealth, wisdom, and power begin to flow to us and through us in various forms, and we become DivineLove Ambassadors and world changers.

If you’ve ever felt like you were made for more than the life you’ve experienced, if you know that there’s more to you than this world has seen, you already have a sense of your true nature, purpose, and calling. When reconnected to DivineLove, the past is redeemed; disabilities are transformed into superpowers, and every tragedy turns into triumph by DivineLove using these experiences to fully unlock our ability to touch the world in ways we otherwise couldn’t.

CONCLUSION: EVERYTHING IS PERFECT AND EVERYTHING IS IMPROVING!

Some people, it seems to me, live in a perpetual state of discontent and will only be happy if everything in their life becomes perfect. The truth is that nothing truly improves until an individual shifts their mind and mood to accept it’s already perfect because “happiness” is the miracle elixir. In my thirty years of helping people unlock their financial freedom, for instance, I have witnessed repeatedly that money doesn’t make you happy; “happy” makes you money

Aristotle taught us, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” In the original Greek, the

word translated as “end” is “telos.” The Greek word telos is often translated as “perfect” as in “Be ye therefore perfect (telos) as your Heavenly Father (God) is perfect (telos).” Telos is used to describe something flawless and “perfectly complete,” and it’s also used to describe “the perfect path” toward that completion. Aristotle used the word telos to say happiness is the meaning and purpose of life; it's the perfect path to the perfect life. Happiness is achieved in the state of present peace and nonresistance which occurs naturally when we are in a state of gratitude for all that is already ours. This is the antithesis of the “problem mindset” that has skewed our scientific and spiritual research. When we choose to focus on what we have, what we know, and what we can do, alone and in community, we become part of the ongoing master plan en route to the masterpiece, free from the fears and frustrations, the fight and flight that flow inexorably from the “Problem Mindset.”

The REAL Theory of Everything is that Everything is Perfect and Everything is Improving.

ABOUT JAMES MACNEIL

James MacNeil Pure Spiritual Intelligence, Author DreamLife Community, Founder

James is a 30-year veteran world-class speaker, thought leader, consultant and international bestselling author. James helps you live your best possible life as your best possible self through Pure Spiritual Intelligence, Verbal Aikido and his Wealthy World-Changer Workshops. James is raising up million dollar gurus all over the world teaching from his experience working with the world most powerful banks, international law enforcement agencies and sharing the stage with the worlds most respected authorities including his “Guru Dad” Les Brown, Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Robin Sharma, Bob Proctor, Grant Cardone, Jack Canfield, Mel Robbins, Steve Forbes, Eric Thomas and Sir Richard Branson

www.iLoveBooks.Guru

SHARINA GUMBS

Awaken Your Intuitive Genius

AWAKEN YOUR INTUITIVE GENIUS

Sharina Gumbs

The world is transformed through intuitive genius. Albert Einstein was a Nobel Prize winner and intuitive genius who revolutionized the scientific community. His curiosity, imagination, thirst for knowledge, and independent thinking led him to question conventional wisdom and explore the mysteries of the universe. He stated that “the only real valuable thing is intuition.”

Even at the highest levels of success, people can feel blocked. As people gain experience in their field, those blocks are more challenging. The risks are greater. The consequences are more drastic. The day's stresses can lead to hesitancy in decision-making. And that hesitancy cannot be afforded in many fast-paced industries. Researchers (Dane & Pratt, 2007) found that intuition plays a vital role in decision-making among high-performing professionals. Experienced professionals who used their intuition could make faster and more accurate decisions than when they only relied on analytical thinking. Because of this, successful people at all levels of their profession need new and different ways to ignite their intuitive skills.

I am intrigued by human development. I especially enjoy looking for patterns in human behavior and how unhealthy patterns are broken.

How do people break from beliefs that hold them back? How do they find new paths that lead to innovation in their personal and professional life? About 25 years ago, I became a social worker, and I spent every day in my career learning exactly those patterns and how they are broken.

When I was 10, I got an assignment in class to draw something. Having difficulty with not having a father in my life, I immersed myself in the project. The simple act of recreating a vision in my mind was not only healing, but it was also self-nurturing. I worked on this art project into the night and felt such a sense of completeness within me. My full focus was on my pencil touching paper. My mind stopped thinking, and it went into a state of being that resembled more of a river flowing. It has been a passion ever since.

Some say your superpower is found in your lowest moment and your greatest gift. For me, my lowest moment was developing a fear of rejection because I was raised without a present father. I had a difficult time connecting with people. Art and social work both gently pulled me out of that fear and became my two greatest gifts. In fact, my earliest art was portraits: just the face. To see, feel, and know that person by looking into their eyes and having that flow through your eyes to your hands is such a powerful connection.

In my 30s, I was a single mom following my mother’s footsteps in not finding a father to be present for my children. Additionally, I was concerned that fear in me would continue on to my children, and that is when I started abstract art. I used to draw portraits with pencil and precision. But with abstract art, I moved from the strict reflection of what I saw to something that transcended the visual plane. I let whatever was inside come out, and to me, it was like telling my story. My early art connected me to people. My abstract art connected the world to me.

Art helped me see myself, and it expanded my mind to see new paths. Studying abstract art gave me a sense of freedom that was so much stronger than realistic painting. It was storytelling with colors and canvas, but the stories were so much more than any stories I thought

I knew. It was like channeling stories from other worlds and, at the same time, within the depths of my own mind.

I lived with both my passion for art and my fascination for human improvement in separate realms. Albert Einstein said, “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant.” That is exactly what was happening. Social work was my cognitive learning, and art was my spiritual learning. The real magic happened when the lessons and connections of both worlds blended together. The combination of the two proved powerful beyond my imagination.

Through teaching after-school programs and coaching, I developed a system of learning that taps into your intuition and brings out innovation in your day-to-day life, all through art. I call it Mindful Art.

The most frustrating question I hear from people feeling stuck in their life is, “How can I change my life if this is the only life I know?” It is a relatable question to me as well. Visualization is key in achieving a goal, so how do you visualize what you cannot see? If I want to have a healthy relationship with someone but was never raised seeing what that healthy relationship looks like, how can I see my goal to move toward it? How can I visualize a partner when I have never met someone to emulate?

Thinking outside of the box is such a common phrase, but escaping the influence of past experiences or the misinformation of mentors makes this one of the most difficult skills because most of us only know the box. Still, it is a mandatory skill to success. You can only lead if you break the spell the box has on you, and that means visualizing what currently doesn’t exist to you.

I’m going to share with you the first step of my Mindful Art class. There is an interactive journey after it, but even that first project can lead to some eye-opening epiphanies about communicating effectively and seamlessly with our intuition. I’m sure it’s no surprise that I tell you the first step is to draw.

Draw a picture. You can use anything with color: acrylic on canvas, markers on paper, or crayons on construction paper. Crayons are

wonderful because they bring us back to the naturally intuitive years of our childhood. Actually, if all you have is a few shades of lipstick and a window, that works, too. Draw in a space where you know you will let yourself be free and do not try to draw anything specific. Simply feel as you draw. Take in how you feel when you create. Do not analyze it. Do not wonder if you’re doing it right. The simple act of doing it makes it the right way to do it.

After you draw this piece, move a step back and take it in. Attach emotions to each color and line. If there is a shape you see, attach an emotion to that. Do not judge it, and do not analyze it. Stay in your intuitive, childlike mind and attach only feelings.

Now, listen to your art with your mind. Do not take it in with your eyes. Experience it. In my experience, what you see will have to do with how you look at life or some major issues you are dealing with, so discover what memories come up as you connect to your art. Is there a person, moment, or task you need to do that keeps coming to the surface of your brain? If so, the art might be telling you something about that. It may be telling you how it’s a pattern in your life you need to break. Our inner wisdom is always trying to communicate with us, and your art acts like a phone from that inner wisdom to your conscious brain.

Often, your art is not just telling you about a struggle. It may remind you of gifts. I noticed something both in Mindful Art and in social work: people do not recognize their talents and powers. They are often held back by a form of imposter syndrome. They will either say their talent is not a big deal or say their talent is not strong enough. We take our talents for granted so often. Our art will connect us to our talents even if our talents are far from the creative world. So, as you look at what you draw, you may sense gratitude for what you do well. That’s a truly wonderful feeling.

All the discoveries you make with that first piece of art you create can be experienced again with another piece. While Mindful Art will help you directly with what your inner wisdom is trying to tell your conscious mind, it also develops your intuitive skills. Your imagination is connected to problem-solving skills and enhanced emotional

intelligence, like empathy. Right now, as you assign emotion to your drawing, you will find a deeper sense of empathy for yourself. You may also be feeling emotions that connect to another person, like a family member or friend, and that, too, may connect your power of empathy to them. Your growing self-knowledge and expanding empathy will allow you to communicate more effectively and connect you to decision-making that comes to you with the same sense of flow as you feel when you draw.

Another effective Mindful Art exercise helps you connect to another person: Take a pencil or a pen and paper, and sit close to and opposite the other person. Take turns in drawing a portrait of each other. Take a few seconds to look at the other person's eyes, features, and facial expression before you start. Each person draws for 1-2 minutes. Once you start drawing, there is only one rule; you are not allowed to look down at your paper until your drawing is done. When your partner has had their turn, reflect together on this exercise. How was it to take a moment to really focus on the other person and to see them? How was it to be in the moment and express freely without judgment of your artwork?

On my first day trying to draw, I had no idea that focusing on my first piece of art was a form of meditation. Now, we have learned that there is a flow state when we create art. This flow state can be found in numerous passions: writing, sports, cooking, etc. So many passions can lead us to a state of mind that triggers us to interact with the universe naturally and intuitively. Continue to draw and find a rhythm in your creativity, and you will organically feel that rhythm in your work and relationships.

Through Mindful Art you will connect to emotions you were likely not expecting. Be prepared, but also celebrate that breakthrough. My mother is very independent and raised me to hide my vulnerability. What I learned from my mother is to not show weakness. I didn’t reveal if I didn’t know an answer to a question. I didn’t show fear if I felt in danger. At first, I didn’t see this as an issue to work on at all. It felt like a strength. I have a piece I drew and had no idea what it was until it was done. As I stood back and reflected on it, I realized what it was. It hit me like a sudden wind on my face. I called it Rebirth of a

Woman. It was a painting about my relationship with my mother and, in turn, my relationship with my children and how our connections affect each other. I found such strength with my vulnerability in that piece, and I have grown because of that realization.

Innovators in business, science, and medicine create art every moment at work. They find new paths, connect to the human experience, and find solutions in moments no one else sees a fix. We are all born with this ability but lose connection along the way as society or upbringing plants seeds of doubt in what we do, causing us to hesitate or even freeze. Art is your intuition having a conversation with you. The deepest wisdom inside of us can be conjured through that connection of paint with canvas. Solutions are found by seeing them in your mind first, and that is achieved by connecting to your intuitive self. The beauty of innovation in any field is that innovation can only come from someone who can imagine what they have yet to see. Many of us develop our rational mind in college and at work but neglect to develop our intuitive mind. That is why Mindful Art can help us reach a new level of success by expanding our intuitive mind. Creativity is one pathway to unlocking our intuitive genius and allowing us to reach our greatest potential and transform the world.