Life can be confusing and difficult at times. Finding peace during challenging times is a choice, not always easy, but a choice none the less. Let us all choose peace today.

In commemoration of this seventh anniversary of 9/11 we offer this movie entitled Peace Today by Faith Rivera

Dr. Richard Bartlett is a wild man!

Of course, I mean that in a good way. Meeting Richard and being introduced to Matrix Energetics was one of those experiences after which life has no longer been the same!

In over 30 years of attending and leading personal development and transformational trainings and events, I have NEVER experienced anything quite like Richard's teaching style. Nor have I experienced anything remotely like Matrix Energetics, which Richard brought into the world a few years ago. On stage Richard expresses what I recognized immediately as "crazy wisdom", as it's called in the Sufi tradition. In the shamanic tradition he is coyote medicine personified. And it works.

The only thing that is remotely in the same ball park with Matrix Energetics is when I learned and later taught firewalking and other breakthrough, experiential events at the Firewalk Institute for Research and Education (F.I.R.E.) in the high Sierras with Tolly Burkan over ten years ago.

I was first exposed to Matrix when our friend Jim Running Wolf returned from a Matrix workshop in April and began "working" on me and Layne. I had recently injured my back and the pain was not going away. Jim did some Matrix with me and the pain disappeared in less than five minutes, never to return.

Then Jim asked if I would like for him to show me what he learned. He didn't need to ask twice!

I had the same immediate impression with Matrix that I had over thirty years ago when I had my first Rebirthing Breathwork experience with Sondra Ray at Leonard Orr's Theta Seminars in San Francisco. And that impression was a profound sense that I already know this work, I know how to do this, I just need someone to show me and remind me. Following my Breathwork training I enjoyed a long and amazing career practicing and teaching Breathwork with many thousands of people.

Anyway, I began practicing the Matrix that Jim was showing me with him and Layne, then eventually others, including willing clients. It came as naturally and easily as breathing.

I went to my first Matrix Levels 1 & 2 workshop in L.A. in June, which is where I met Richard. It was life changing in much the same way as Breathwork and Firewalking, only different. When I returned home I began working with clients long distance, over the phone, and they were experiencing positive results.

In the late '80's Layne and I learned a variety of "energy psychology" procedures and techniques that we have been using ever since, along with EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). And while all of these tools have been extremely effective and transformed our work at the time, Matrix Energetics is something of an entirely different order - yet is easily integrated with those modalities.

Layne and I returned a week ago from the Matrix Energetics Levels 1, 2 & 3 workshops in Denver. I deepened my experience with Matrix during this review of Levels 1 & 2 and went even deeper in Level 3. Now, Layne and I are seeing all the ways we can incorporate Matrix Energetics with our relationship work to make it even easier and more effective.

For awhile now we have been asking for an even easier, faster and more elegant way of working with our clients and students that would produce miraculous results. Enter Matrix Energetics!

We will be using Matrix Energetics in our Relationship Savvy Group Coaching Programs starting in September. We are already using it with clients on the phone and in person. If you are interested to know more about Relationship Savvy, there are two programs, Relationship Savvy 1 starts September 9 and Relationship Savvy 2 starts September 3. Each one is limited to only 12 participants.

Here is a six minute video introduction to Dr. Bartlett and Matrix Energetics that you might enjoy. You should be sitting down when you watch this!

Please leave us a comment and let us know what you think or any questions you may have.

Lahaina, Maui Sunset - photo (c) Paul Cutright

We just returned from two weeks in Maui for a lot of vacation and a little work. We spent the first week in a condo on the beach in Kihei with excursions for scuba diving and snorkeling. We used to live in Hawaii on Oahu which is where we really came into our own with our work back in the late '70's and early '80's.

We've been back to visit friends and bask in the healing energy that is Hawaii many time!

This time we went to teach at a small and exclusive retreat in a friend's private home in Kapalua high above the blue Pacific with a 180 degree view of the islands of Molokai and Lanai. We were with a select group of about 20 participants with whom we were privileged to share some of our secrets about relationship success.

We were all pampered with catered meals, beach barbecues and a morning sailing and snorkeling adventure. We set sail on a beautiful 50' sloop called Scotch Mist. We saw dolphins and green sea turtles playing in the placid blue glass-like sea. Plus, we staid at the fabulous Ritz-Carlton Kapalua!

Our tattooed young salt of a captain - ARRRGH matey! - photo (c) Paul Cutright

We also visited a friend we've known as long as we've been together who now lives in Hana. Hana is said to be the last place in the islands that retains the culture and practices of old Hawaii. Hana is at the end of a 50+ mile narrow, hairpin road with over 50 one lane bridges along the way, studded with waterfalls, flowering trees and bamboo forests. It's truly like slowly going back in time to another world.

Bamboo forest in the rain along the road to Hana - photo (c) Paul Cutright

Our friend, Roger, lives in an old Hawaiian plantation style home set back off the beach about 100 yards. We spent two glorious days with Roger showing us around and taking us to secret pools where we swam, lava tube caves and tropical waterfalls. Without realizing it, the place we made reservations in Hana was the exact same place we held our very first Intensive Personal Evolution Program retreat in 1978, thirty years ago!

Roger's house in Hana - photo (c) Paul Cutright

Hamoa Beach just down the road from Roger's - photo (c) Paul Cutright

Hana Coast - photo (c) Paul Cutright

Hana Waterfall - photo (c) Paul Cutright

After living in the high desert of Santa Fe for the last four years it was delicious being cradled and nurtured in the warm, soft, fragrant (and very moist) air of Hawaii once again.

We will be returning to the islands to what Peter Caddy, co-founder of Findhorne in Scotland, called the "heart of the Mother". It certainly is that for us.

Still, we were glad to get home to the brilliant skies of Santa Fe. There is an unusual connection between Hawaii and Santa Fe. We felt it the first time we came to Santa Fe in 1983 when we moved here the first time from Hawaii. We meet people in Santa Fe all the time who have some connection with Hawaii and we met someone in the dive shop on Maui who had just moved there from Santa Fe a couple of weeks before.

What's Next - Matrix Energetics

Now we leave again for a week of training in Matrix Energetics in Denver. I (Paul) took Matrix Levels 1 & 2 in LA the beginning of June and have been using it with friends and clients with truly amazing results since. Now, Layne and I and her sister, Ariane, will be doing Levels 1, 2 & 3 the first week of August. We're excited to see what happens next!

We have been practicing a variety of forms of energy psychology for twenty years. Matrix is the first thing we have come across that seems to go beyond anything we have experienced up until now.

We plan to use it with our Relationship Savvy 1 & 2 Group Coaching Programs starting in September, which we expect will take our small group work to a new level of ease and joy in the transformational process.

If you're interested, click here to check out Relationship Savvy 1 and click here for Relationship Savvy 2. They are two very different but complementary programs made up of small groups of no more than 12 participants designed for close personal attention over four months..

 Aloha nui loa

Yellow Hibiscus - photo (c) Paul Cutright

Layne and Paul's Wedding Day - April 20, 1980

We celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary a week ago Sunday, on April 20. We were married at the Walker Estate on Oahu on what turned out to be a beautiful day. It had rained earlier and we feared it might not stop or the ground might not dry in time. But, everything turned out perfectly.

Our photographer spied us when we slipped away from the festivities to have a moment alone to connect and breathe in what we had just done, promise to be there for each other from here on out. Our purpose has always been to bring out the best in each other. We have also attempted to live by a definition of love we learned from Stewart Emery. Stewart was the first trainer for EST after Werner Erhard and the founder of Actualizations, a training in the Bay Area in the '70's. Steward was Layne's trainer in EST in 1972 and we were both in his Actualizations Training.

Anyway, Stewart defined true love as a love that is more intent on the object of your love realizing their full potential, regardless of the consequences to you, the lover. I'm paraphrasing here, but that is the essence of his thought.

We both forgot our anniversary was coming until our dear friends called and asked us what we were going to do! Since that was the weekend we were scheduled to have the tree people come plant large trees in our yard, we decided what we were doing was giving each other a forest for our anniversary!

We now have a new 12 foot Ponderosa Pine in our south yard, making three - and a few new pinons, as well. And we realized a few days afterward, as we were enjoying the new foliage, we have now been together longer than we have been apart. That is both a sobering and a comforting thought.

Photo (c) Paul Grant Cutright

In my post last week I indicated, somewhat mysteriously, that we were leaving to drive to Scottsdale to present at an exclusive private retreat, but we couldn't tell you anything about it.

Well, we still can't say anything about it!! We would love to tell you — but, we're sworn to absolute secrecy, still.

What not many people know about us is that we serve, often behind the scenes, with celebrity figures who prefer to keep their identities and their affairs private. This happens to be a similar instance.

What we can let you know is that we were among a stellar group of people whom it was our privilege to coach for a day. We facilitated Heart to Heart Talks (which we teach in our new teletraining series Straight From the Heart).

We were once again thrilled at the miracle power of speaking the truth, straight from the heart. To initiate people into this transformative practice is one of the most rewarding parts of our life. To witness this simple, powerful tool healing hearts and opening minds is inspiring beyond words.

We were with these people in a beautiful Arizona desert setting called The Boulders. The Boulders is an exclusive residential resort that also features the Golden Door Spa which we enjoyed immensely! It was a magical trip for us in which we felt nourished by natural splendors and the beauty of the human spirit.

We are passionate about the commitment we live in to help transform the way the world relates — and sometimes we work too much! This was one of those instances in which we both worked hard and felt energized and uplifted by the entire experience. Our work is challenging and even after 32 years, we still love it with our whole hearts.

The picture above was taken at The Boulders.

Photo (c) Paul Grant Cutright

The summer skies in Santa Fe are amazingly beautiful. After this long, cold winter we're looking forward to warmer weather and seeing these magical skies again.

We're leaving tomorrow to drive down to Scottsdale where we will be presenting all day Friday at an exclusive retreat, about which we are sworn to secrecy! We'll tell you all about it when we get back next week . . .

The video below is taken from a presentation we gave that included this piece on the Five Stages of Relationships. Many people have told us that learning these distinctions has been a transformational revelation for them and their relationships.

We hope you enjoy it. Let us know what you think . . .

This talk by brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor is amazing, inspiring and enlightening. If you haven't seen this yet, it's well worth the 20 minutes to watch. She describes in the most passionate, beautiful and poetic terms the process of observing herself have a stroke from which it took her eight years to recover.

Also, this is from a site called TED which is filled with videos of presentations given by thought leaders from many different fields. And it's all free! This is a site well worth bookmarking and visiting frequently.

Enjoy and let us know what you think . . .

Photo (c) Paul Grant Cutright

This was shot at an orchid farm in Carlsbad, CA. The beauty of this place and the variety of orchids there is astounding. How can one look upon such exotic beauty and not be in awe of the profound mystery of creation?

People yearn for relationships they can trust. They want to be able to depend on people. At the deepest level, they want relationships characterized by ease, clarity and harmonious cooperation.


The hallmark of an enlightened partnership is intentional design. Great relationships don't just happen, mediocre ones do. If you are like most people, you yearn for relationships you can trust. You want to be able to depend on people. You want relationships characterized by ease, clarity and harmonious cooperation. The good news is it is easier than you think. With a little bit of education and skill you can design relationships that foster trust through clarity and agreement.

Clarifying the purpose of your relationship and crafting agreements is a foundational part of the design process for generating trust. The conversations you will have will illuminate what is truly important to each person. This knowledge is essential in creating relationships that work well over the long term.

If you create agreements that reflect the authentic motivation of each person and you plan for predictable breakdowns in a way that fosters accountability you can relax into a new certainty and trust in your most important relationships.

What Is an Agreement?

What is an agreement really? An agreement is a method for coordinating action between two or more people. It is supposed to smooth the way for efficient harmonious interaction. But why do people so often not live up to their word? Usually an agreement fails because it does not reflect the true desire and motivation of all the people making the agreement. People who agree to something because they are afraid of what will happen if they don't agree, will more than likely not follow through, unless they are pressured to do so.

It's important to know that agreements alone will not secure the safety and dependability we all yearn for. For an agreement to be effective the internal motivator that drives it should be so compelling that the people involved are aroused to fulfill their part of their own volition. In other words, an agreement you can count on has to come from the right place.

Why Am I Agreeing to This?

That means that each person must answer the question, "For the sake of what am I agreeing to this?" This reason needs to be explicit. You can't assume the same thing motivates everyone. You have to question, discuss and clarify. Successful agreements are always driven by a clear purpose that inspires action. There are two very important things that need to be part of a process for creating agreements that will work, a clear and inspiring purpose for your agreements and a process for restoring trust when an agreement has been broken.

More on Are Your Relationships Designed for Trust?