Happy New Year!  I hope your entry into 2026 has been deeply meaningful and filled with clarity and purpose. With hopefully some joy and peace sprinkled in there as well!  But I place these qualities in this order purposefully, as given the state of things: political & social discord (ICE, Gaza), environmental (Unprecedented Floods & Fires), astrological (Neptune > Aries for the first time since Civil War) and our own deep interpersonal healing – there’s no doubt we are living in intensely disruptive times as humans.  A lasting sense of joy may seem like an elusive beast indeed for many right now.  Yet that doesn’t mean that experiences of profoundly deep meaning and purpose aren’t still plentiful.  In fact, the big lesson plan for me in 2025 was to stop favoring what I branded as “positive” emotions/experiences over perceived negative ones. To learn to allow myself to really feel, respect and honor the power in the moment as the world dramatically changes before my eyes.

 

That’s why I am declaring 2026 as the year of CHOICE.  What choice is that specifically you ask?  Well, THE choice of course!  Really we’re talking about ALL choices here.  It’s time we get right down to the core of the reason WHY we choose how we respond to absolutely Everything.  What is it that governs our internal decision making process? What rests at the heart of why we choose whatever we choose? And really consider, is it fear of the unknown or other, desire, hope, habit, culture, lineage or perhaps a baseline avoidance of pain/discomfort that governs our actions? Or will we choose to slow down enough, become mindful and discerning enough, detached enough – to recognize each moment of choice as a gateway? An invitation to make a clear decision that truly represent the values and virtue we live by (or aspire toward), including personal sovereignty and soul mission?

There is a sacred pause between stimulus and response, between a rising feeling or thought and action.  That one breath of a moment is perhaps the most powerful force we actually have control over to determine the unfolding of our fate.  It is in that precise moment that we hold the key to how we choose to engage with life itself.  We encounter this moment literally dozens of times every day.  It’s in these moments, especially where we encounter opposition, where our potential for growth truly resides. A kindness we offered goes unacknowledged, our expressed need is not received or cared for, someone challenges our firmly held point of view, someone acts outside of our code of honor, our physical state doesn’t allow us to engage with life how we want to, we experience a behavior we don’t like toward us or those we love, a firmly held intention is bamboozled by a sudden unanticipated circumstance…  Yet too often, right at this precise moment when clarity of purpose and discernment of action is so critically important, our mind (often hijacked by wounds, shadow, misconceptions or a desire to avoid discomfort) chooses to engage in an often repeated harmful reaction that further entrenches us into suffering, confusion and forgetfulness. 

So is there a way to slow down the mind, expand the coherency of the heart and genuinely accept accountability for the power of choice in the moment?  The answer is Yes. It’s simple really, but oh so hard for the ego to swallow. The way… is to genuinely accept that WHAT IS – is happening Exactly as it needs to be for a reason beyond what we can ever hope to understand.  Now that doesn’t mean we have to agree with it or like it by any means. And its perfectly appropriate to have ALL the feelings our bodies decide to experience in that moment as well including grief, sorrow, frustration, remorse, anger, etc.  Yet right then, after we feel our bodies genuine response, we have a critical choice.  How do we interpret or filter these powerful feelings through our bodies to arrive at a distilled honest response?  Or will we choose to add it to our internal narrative as to what happens because of those people or circumstances out there that make us feel or act a certain way inside? 

Its even harder when its one of our core wounds that are triggered by someone/something close to the heart like a life partner, close friend, family member, chronic illness or a repeating trauma pattern – which seemingly has this magical ability to launch us into an auto-pilot response so fast we’re 10 miles into a reaction before realizing a choice was ever made.  Yet right then we can choose to consider, is it really the circumstance OR is it our meaning making and attachment to a preferred outcome that is giving the situation so much power?  Suffering comes from the powerful stories we attach to unfavorable situations.  Not the situations themselves. (This is not to say atrocities and grossly negligent/ignorant human behavior does not create incredible pain & sorrow, which is different than suffering)  We suffer when we refuse to let go of our attachment to desiring something different instead of allowing it to just be as it is – Not allowing ourselves to feel our feelings all the way through without avoidance, projection, judgement or designed interference.  Without allowing that process to continue with full acceptance,  we cannot truly discern (much different than judge) how to go on with our life  from a clear center.  Sometimes that means taking strong action, sometimes that’s walking away, sometimes it’s doing nothing – but we won’t know what’s truly aligned unless resistance is sacrificed for the gift of freedom.

Meditation, reflective journaling, conscious movement, contemplation on virtuous/dharmic action, therapy, mindfulness, studying authentic wisdom teachings and psychedelic medicine are all be powerful resources to help us to slow down our minds and increase our quality of heart.  Each in its own way guiding us to restore our true power to discern choices clearly in presence. To be able to move through any dialog frame by frame, feel the sharp jagged edge of dissonance as it arises and take that one additional moment to breath and decide – Who am I?  What Do I represent? How I do I respond OR not respond (refraining from action is a powerful and often healthy choice) in a way that expresses my truth authentically to this fellow soul on their journey. This is what determines character, integrity of action and how seriously we take responsibility for our own well-being. As in the end, we live and die by our choices.  And I anticipate each and every one of us have made decisions that arose in seconds that changed the trajectory of our entire lives.  Sometimes we are able to sense the gravity of these impending choices, yet so often it’s not at all obvious how a seemingly small wisp of a butterfly wing of a choice can have a tsunami of an impact.  My personal take on this through experience, is its best to take them ALL seriously then. 

As you step into 2026, I welcome you to consider if you’re ready to make THE Choice in your life this year alongside me.  To to step into each and every situation as earnestly as possible as a sovereign discerning soul. And to step away from the conditioning, habits and fears that have led to the ever crumbling suffering and false sense of control that plagues our society and world.  The disastrous result of which can be viscerally felt on every level of our personal and collective experience every day. But please remember, this isn’t a path of fire and brimstone when you fail.  You/we/all of us are learning to go against untold generations of programming that has drilled into us we need to change outside circumstances to find well-being within ourselves.  Having empathy and care for the many MANY times we will absolutely fall on our asses is incredibly important to learn true compassion for ourselves and one another.  Earth School is no joke in the intensity of this particular piece of the curriculum!  So let’s be kind, earnest and sincere in how me make moment to moment decisions this year.  And if you ever need support, I will be right here as an ally and friend alongside you as we make our courageous journey home to living a truly sovereign empowered life. 

With Love & Fellowship, 
Ehren

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In this SpArc newsletter, is a series of fascinating articles on psychedelics as a key to unlocking the paranormal, the psychedelic church legalization boom, new insights on how psychedelics impacts our neurochemistry, new research on how psychedelics promotes neuroplasticity and more! Thank you for joining me on this odyssey of the soul as we enter into the New Year.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out if I can be of service to your personal journey or be an ally for those you love. It is my honor to be of service to the path of self-actualization during these powerful times of awakening. Onward and inward!

Sincerely, 
Ehren