It is said that in the beginning of time a truce was stuck between darkness and light. An agreement was made, honoring both and in respect of free will. Both sides were to choose a force through which to exercise their reign over humanity. A coin was tossed and destiny would have it that darkness was to pick first.

With a smug and a greedy grin, darkness announced with pride – We, the forces of Darkness choose as our might and ally, as our agent of despair and agony none other than the ultimate force of Gravity. May gravity forever be enslaved to our will, enforcing and welcoming mankind into our fold.

A little baffled and confused, realizing the immense challenge Darkness has just posed, Light cleared her throat and declared: “And so, let it be known that we, the forces of Light choose as our medium of hope and beauty, as our vessel of Divine Love and compassion, none other than our sister – Gratitude. Let it be known that all those who out of free will choose to walk the path of Gratitude are ensured to find the celestial realms.

And so it began. An everlasting battle between Darkness and Light. Between evil and goodness. Between faith and despair. Armed with Gravity at its disposal, Darkness reigns with might and domineering force. With open arms and fully spread wings Light could only inspire and wait for Gratitude to ensue.

It was quickly apparent that by choosing gravity, as it’s primary weapon, Darkness had clearly tipped the battle in its favor. The celestial beings, the forces of light, could not imagine a reality where souls, angels of beauty would not offer gratitude nor live in absolute service to each other. Light, being a force of absolute purity, could not estimate the horror and depth of effect that gravity might have on the human spirit.

Once introduced to human form, the divine spark within the body is subjugated to suffer the effects of gravity and decay. The fact is that in order to embrace darkness and despair one has to do absolutely nothing. Gravity has already taken its toll. Sadness follows and fills every space within the material world. Embracing the light, choosing to invite love and happiness would mean defying gravity and employing tremendous energy. Happiness has become somewhat of a chore.

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This battle has been going on from time immemorial; the invitation to flow into light has always been there. But due to gravity, one has first to ask for support and second bring forth action and energy towards the creation of happiness. Light is a force of creation and creativity. A force of motion. As we study the innate behavior of the mind, we find that depression, sadness, boredom, and despair are the direct result of an atrophied emotional muscle. We think ourselves into feeling and feel ourselves into behavior. In order to declare “war” on darkness and regain our celestial right as bearers of light, we must learn to “defy gravity” and find the energy to act despite it.

If we examine human growth and human life span, we can see that as we are born, this invitation to defy gravity is carried with us since infancy and straight into our death. One of our greatest moments of celebration is the moment we raise and stand up. Our parents cheer and shower us with love when we finally take that stand so to speak. Similarly, we see the forces of gravity in our final moments, our strength fails us, gravity takes its toll and we are to follow the course of nature, return to the soil, stop resisting, let go and dissolve back into the earth.

Let's observe our face. Left alone, as it is, affected by gravity, it will always be serious. A smile requires energy. To smile is to defy gravity. To smile is an act of a celestial being. A force of light shining from and through the prism of your soul. There is only one centric source of light. Each and every one of us is a unique and incredibly complex prism through which the light is shone in the most individualized, personalized, creative way. Smiling alone can open the gates of paradise. It is the most condensed form of gratitude there is.

Learning to defy gravity is where an integral approach to a spiritual evolution is so necessary. Learning to exercise and activate your mind, body, heart and soul in a holistic approach that does not neglect any part of you. Meditation alone cannot help you defy gravity. Your body will atrophy and decay, leading to the demise of your heart, mind, and soul. Working out, eating healthy and taking care of your body without any spiritual activity will atrophy your capacity to feel and elevate your thoughts. Eventually, focusing on your body alone will dim your inclination to flame and ignite your divine spark, which in turn will lead to misery and despair.

Spiritually speaking, to defy gravity means the awareness to the natural tendencies of the human spirit and the invitation to live a lifestyle that will uplift, elevate and inspire our souls. It is so easy to identify the agents of darkness. They will tend to hide behind laziness, tiredness, and fatigue. Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that would drain you of energy and push your posture towards the ground, physically and emotionally. It is a sort of heaviness or a dark cloud that prevents us from making positive decisions that will help us grow, expand and ultimately remember our divine nature.

How then do we bring about transformation in our approach to challenges? How do we face the attacks coming out of darkness? First, we learn to recognize those “agents” of despair. This is where practices of mindfulness come into play. Observing our tendencies, our innermost thoughts. Darkness, though cunning and sophisticated, tends to operate in patterns, it is repetitive. It isn’t overtly creative. When you start observing your negative syntax you'll quickly notice the same lingo over and over. The same sentence, expressing your unworthiness. Giving you reasons not to wonder at your magnificent miraculous self. “You are this…” “You can't because you're that…” “You never will”, “You always have…”

Once we start recognizing these tendencies something within us will start shifting. The power darkness had over us will start to diminish. All we did is shed some light on the darkness we have chosen to follow. In other words, we've fallen into a pattern of behavior. We allowed gravity to take its toll.

Assuming an investigative approach, bringing about curiosity is the right course of action towards healing and bringing back the light to shine through. Beating ourselves up for having negative thoughts or harmful behaviors towards ourselves will do nothing more than feed darkness even further. In a way, we have to get to the conclusion that we can’t fight darkness with darkness. We have to turn on the light. To take this stance, to stand up and face the gravity of our situation, we have to drop from the mind and into our hearts. In a way… we skillfully employ gravity in our favor. Like a skilled boatman engaging the wind to push his sail towards the safety of shore.

When darkness rose into power, it cheered in seeing humanity fall out of grace. Dropping to their knees to serve tyrants and dictators. Nations fell, families collapsed. Depression reigned. There was only one opening that Light grasped and with which won the battle. Realizing that falling is undeniable and cannot be avoided, Light offered the human soul with the greatest gift there has ever been – the miracle of falling – in love.

Love is not only the vessel through which light shines through; it is the alchemical substance of gratitude personified. There is nothing more uplifting, gravity defying, going against all odds as Love has always been and eternally will be.

Gravity is undeniable; you feel it, you experience it and you live every moment under its hold. And yet… your spirit, your capacity to love, to offer gratitude and grace is just as irrefutable. You have within you the invitation to rise above and marvel. To glorify and elevate those around you. And yes, you even have the unlimited invitation to defy the taboo of utterly falling in love with yourself. To offer gratitude to every moment of breath, of being able to walk, to dance, to sing. You are free to choose the meaning you would like your life to have. As challenging as it may be; you, in being a carrier of the divine light, have the capacity to defy gravity, to go against the grain and offer a meaning to each and every challenge; transforming it into an opportunity of gratitude and growth. That is truly your birthright. Choosing light has always been possible and always will be no matter how grave and gravitational the situation you're facing might seem.

The thing is that both darkness and light operate under the rule of free will. You have to invest the energy to bring about your transformation. You need to “click the button” so to speak. Flip the switch… it is up to you. You can and will always have the opportunity to keep sitting there in darkness. The light switch will be there, patiently waiting for you to make the first move. It might seem hard, or even impossible at first. Gravity, at that stage, has its strongest hold. You feel depressed, “down”, lacking the energy to take even the smallest of steps.

That moment is actually the defining moment. Will you find the strength to defy gravity and choose to bring about the energy you seemingly don't actually have? That is the same moment the cocoon becomes a butterfly. The moment the seedling sprouts into a plant. Somehow, they both just know. Just one more effort, even though all I see is darkness, just one more struggle, one more push and I'll find the light. A moment of graceful faith that there is something I do not see but my spirit feels. There is something I don't understand, but somehow, in someway, my heart simply knows.