Excuse Me, Sir, Can You Spare Any Change? In 2020, homelessness is an epidemic spreading to every street corner in Los Angeles. Out of common courtesy, I say, “Sorry, I can't help you.” Inside, I tell myself, “The change you need isn't loose in my jeans, brother.” I reply with compassion and complete understanding, because at a certain point in my life I was broke, homeless, and addicted to drugs. I finally hit rock bottom and then, when all hope was gone, I was given the greatest gift of all: the gift of desperation. In recovery, the words gift of desperation is an acronym given to explain the word God. When we reach the point of desperation, we become ready to admit that we need help. We experience a moment of clarity. We finally accept that our way isn't working and that we need to change. We are now willing to follow someone else's direction for a while rather than living for a handout and a fix. We have simply become sick and tired of being sick and tired. Looking back through the course of my spiritual life, I can now see clearly that there have been many profound changes in my relationship with God. In the beginning, I was not spiritual or religious in the least bit. As a young man like many, I was materialistic and completely bought into the illusion of the world. In my early twenties, I was a junkie and learned how to function in dysfunction. Doing drugs became normal. My ego-encapsulated identity was all I knew. A quote I later created goes like this: "If you are not living spiritually you are living egotistically.” Later I had realized that ego is the only thing separating me from others and God. At meetings, they say that “ego stands for edging God out.” Yet, for the majority, ego is the only thing that gets them through this thing called life. Survival has created a society of egomaniacs who have inferiority complexes. In the last two decades, I went from believing there is no God to giving myself completely over to the care of God. My relationship with the creator is intimate and akin to the love a couple shares. The relationship is deep, is highly personal, comes in stages, and is destined for union with the source. Belief in a higher power is the most natural way to live. Studies have shown such belief causes a sense of wholeness found lacking in those who do not believe. On my journey, due to having an insatiable desire to know the meaning of life, I spent most of my time soul searching. What the answer is to the eternal question no one can really say for sure. Unfortunately, we must first die to get the answer. I wonder if God designed life that way and allows us to see omnipotence and turn to Him for everything we need. After my years of extensive studies, I concluded that I am the universe having a human experience. I came from the light and I will return to it soon. My life's meaning is, using the talents that he bestowed upon me, to fulfill God's purpose for my life. The Bible states that "when you come to know yourself, then you will be known." When I answered who I am, where I came from, and where am I going, it helped to align myself to my higher calling. What is my purpose? is the fourth question that stumps most. The reason is that in most cases we don't know what our gifts are. Whatever your gifts are, know that you are fully equipped with everything you need to live your dreams. Your gifts are inherent and cannot be taken away. Not relying on people, places, and things but rather relying on your connection to the source is one quality you possess as a self-realized person. When this occurs, you have achieved wholeness and are healed. Your body, mind, spirit, and source have become aligned. With this comes true power. The process takes time. It requires patience. But the experience of abiding in the source is also that of capturing the world. Reinventing yourself and deciding to let God be in charge takes tremendous courage. It takes strength to endure the process, because there will be times when you must distance yourself from others. This may include family members and loved ones. I can honestly say the most painful thing I have ever done in my life was to walk away from my dad and say goodbye. He was the biggest critic in my life, and to accomplish my dream, I had to love him from afar. Loyalty has an expiration date. We must jettison those who want us to fit into their box. We might say to ourselves, “What if we hurt their feelings?” My attitude begs this question: “What if we miss our destiny?” Les Brown has a saying that he often shares in his seminars. It is a venerable African proverb: "If there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm." The only opponent we have in life is ourselves. When we become self-realized, healed, the whole competition will cease to exist for us. The highest level of self-manifestation is when we become the ideal of ourselves. We stop comparing ourselves to others and we experience the greatest freedom: the freedom from people. Millions lead lives of misery because they are spiritually starved and live lives of comparison. The path to happiness starts with creating a greater vision of oneself. This vision alone will determine everything we do in life. So hold your vision and allow your higher power to deliver the things waiting for you to come and claim them. Let's start with the beginning. Eighteen years ago my level of consciousness had not allowed me to absorb the Truth—or, for that matter—even a particle of