Acceptance, Joy, Enthusiasm

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“Be true to life by being true to your inner purpose. As you become present and thereby total in what you do, your actions become charged with spiritual power.”
~Eckhart Tolle~

When love is based in freedom instead of expectation or fear, it becomes a pathway for growth. Non-egoic love is born of compassion and provides the ability to approach life with innocence and trust. We simply act from love, give to those in need and honor the sacred and unique individuality of one another.

The gentle whispers of the Divine call upon us to walk forward and see what unfolds. We can learn that it’s easier to be courageous when we hold no cherished outcome – being present eliminates fear entirely when choices are made from the heart instead of the mind.
Our soul’s purpose is to awaken – everything else is secondary. Embrace the things that spark your interest and passion and allow the challenges that arrive to refine your abilities. You’ll discover that the whole world synchronizes to provide the backdrop for that awakening. Approach all that you do with acceptance, joy and enthusiasm, and allow the light of consciousness to be your guide.

Learning From Life

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“Where there is life, there is hope.”
~Alyson Noel~

Perhaps 20 years ago I stayed home sick from work. While channel surfing I ran across the Oprah Winfrey Show and watched her speak with a family of white supremacists. Of course, there was a lot of anger, yelling and hateful energy. I remember thinking, “Those kids never had a chance. They will never change. The imprinting of hatred is too strong to overcome.” I moved on to another show and forgot about it completely. A year later I got sick again. Same scenario – on the couch, a little bored, channel surfing… and once again I came across Oprah who said that she was bringing back a guest from the year before to discuss how the experience altered her life.

This piqued my interest. I had only watched the show that one time, and my immediate thought was “Wouldn’t it be interesting to see one of the people I saw last time?” Sure enough, it was a teenage daughter of the family who had spewed so much hatred.

She was completely changed. Her energy was soft, kind and compassionate. Her demeanor was authentic and even her clothing was a completely different style. Oprah showed a clip from the previous year and the contrast was so apparent that it brought tears to my eyes.

I had judged and dismissed this girl a year earlier thinking there was no hope for her. She simply explained, “I never knew that there was a different way to think.” The opposition her family experienced from the crowd in the original show planted the seed of awakening. She had the courage to stand alone in her family and transformed hatred into love. She was an amazing teacher.

I often think of the delightful “coincidence” of those two days of illness and how everything works to our highest good… all the time. I learned that anyone can shift at anytime from any interaction. It took a year for this particular lesson to be made clear to me and of course, I didn’t even know that I was in the midst of a lesson under after it was completed.

This is the beauty of what life offers you… that teachers can be found in the unlikeliest of places, that even a head cold can have purpose and meaning far beyond what we perceive and that hatred and violence can be transformed in an instant.

Soul Work

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“Your life is your practice. Your spiritual practice does not occur someplace other than in your life right now, and your life is nowhere other than where you are. You are looking for answers, insight, and wisdom that you already possess. Live the life in front of you, be the life you are, and see what you find out for yourself.”
~Karen Maezen Miller~

There is great joy in discovering our life’s purpose. If you have yet to be aware of what that might be, simply focus on your spiritual work, learn the art of being fully present, step out of drama and into conscious living. The answer will make itself known. Guidance comes from within.

Be willing to change. Nurturing the ability to stand alone in your quest for understanding will allow you to open to the love that desires to flow through you.
Take a moment to review the circumstances of your life and notice if you’re responding to them differently than you would have a year or two ago. It’s a powerful experience become aware of how much you’ve grown while in the midst of navigating through a challenge.
Spiritual awakening is a process. It requires conscious decisions and mindful responses to life situations. Be patient with yourself – there will be times when you shine and times when you discover new aspects of your personality that are ready to be strengthened. Both are beautiful.

The Voice of the Universe

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“Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.”
~Alan W. Watts~

Allow yourself to notice the rhythms of the body, quiet the mind and access the sacredness that resides within you. Breathe deeply and purposely choose to love whatever the day offers. Find your own pace. Live in alignment with whatever brings you balance of mind, body and spirit. If things seem hard or overwhelming, it only means that there is something you’re missing – healing will come.

When we become lost in the stories of the mind – analyzing, worrying, remembering, projecting – we become wanderers in a dark labyrinth of our own making. As we open to the gifts of life, nature, animals, the scent of a flower or the journey of a cloud across the sky can remind you of the joy of being alive. Our experience is always a reflection of what we choose to create in the present moment.

If you find yourself lost in thought today, choose instead to rise above it. See the world from a higher perspective and allow your experience to be filled with enchantment and delight. This moment is the beginning of the most beautiful time of your life.

Suffering is Optional

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“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”
~John Steinbeck~

Life flows in cycles. Together we participate in an amazing, endless dance of beginnings and endings, dark and light, illness and healing, life and death, love and loss. The resistance that we encounter is the ego saying “This is wrong, this shouldn’t be happening”... and yet, beauty is found in this flow.

When we surrender to the present moment and look past the stories of the ego, a great stillness is discovered. Stillness transforms into peace and within that peace is joy. Within that joy is love. Transformation always allows something new to be born.

Acceptance to life opens the door to a state of grace, ease and lightness. At the deepest level, true detached compassion becomes healing – your mere presence will be a calm harbor in the storms of life and people will be touched and affected by the sense of peace you emanate, whether they are consciously aware or it or not.

Child of Light

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“One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of encouragement. When someone encourages you, that person helps you over a threshold you might otherwise never have crossed on your own.”
~John O’Donohue~

You are a beautiful child of light learning the art of love… When we encourage one another, if the ego is disengaged, we become channels through which truth can emerge. As we focus upon our own awakening, we can share what we’ve learned by providing love, support and acceptance to those we have drawn into our lives.

Compassion is born from experience. Many older souls walk the path of the wounded healer in order to be better teachers when the time comes to fulfill that part of their destiny. Consider the challenges you have faced – there’s a strong possibility that the knowledge you have gained from them will one day be the source of strength you share with someone in need.

Every encounter has meaning. Consciously become receptive to the wisdom that is trying to awaken and you will experience the sacred within everyone and everything. Listen, offer a safe space during the storms of life, and most importantly, be the voice of love.

 

Creating Change

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“True happiness comes not when we get rid of all of our problems, but when we change our relationship to them, when we see our problems as a potential source of awakening, opportunities to practice, and to learn.”
~Richard Carlson~

Something new is ready to emerge… all it takes is the willingness to expand beyond your comfort zone. Allow joy and enthusiasm to guide your decisions and you will certainly draw in the people, circumstances and opportunities that support this exciting new phase of growth.

The physical world, as we experience it, originates from our thoughts, beliefs and expectations. You are not trapped by the world of form, it responds to you and provides a canvas upon which you can paint your dreams.

Rather than repeating the same old patterns and experiences, be willing to break free from your comfort zone. Trying something different provides new levels of experience. It shifts the energy – perhaps slightly, perhaps a cascade of life changes – and allows you the opportunity to expand into uncharted realms.

Take some time to celebrate your journey today. Dance as you cleanse your home. Play some music that uplifts your soul. Cook a meal with loving intention… You are alive, an exquisite spark of infinity looking to create a new experience… and no one does it quite like you.

Dreamtime

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“What if you slept
And what if
In your sleep
You dreamed
And what if
In your dream
You went to heaven
And there plucked a strange and beautiful flower
And what if
When you awoke
You had that flower in you hand
Ah, what then?”
~Samuel Taylor Coleridge~

There are three types of dreams… the first, those we slip into as we fall asleep, are essentially meaningless and usually based upon whatever we were thinking about, reading or watching on TV prior to bed.

In the middle of our sleep cycle – typically around 3am – we have precognitive dreams. As our subconscious processes all the information it has received, a likely scenario is presented in the form of a dream and is usually accurate. During this period we can also travel to other dimensions, talk with those on the astral plane or do spiritual work. Should you wake from a precognitive dream, it’s a good idea to write it down (along with the time) because they tend to dissipate upon awakening when the conscious mind shifts back into action.
The early morning dreams just prior to awakening are called venting dreams and they typically mean the opposite of what was experienced. The mind is discarding old fears, beliefs or limitations that no longer serve your journey. For instance, dreaming about failure indicates a release of the fear of failure.
Knowing the type of dream can transform them into powerful tools to utilize on your path of transformation. Pay attention to the feelings you experience and particularly notice what is released in the venting dreams. That’s a great indicator of the healing work you’re doing.

Verbal Chakra Balance

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“Shine your soul with the same
egoless humility as the rainbow
and no matter where you go
in this world or the next,
love will find you, attend you, and bless you.”
~Aberjhani~

It’s empowering to discover the impact that our energy has on the world around us… but with great power comes great responsibility. From time to time it’s easy to become lost in the world of form while handling the details of life, and we find ourselves responding to events rather than dictating the flow of them. Nothing is more important than your state of consciousness. Your lifeforce and energy are precious, limitless resources than can allow you to shift the world around you… and that is the point of this human experiment – discovering Oneness with all life.

Step back when you are stressed. Love yourself enough to nurture mind, body and spirit. Be the change you wish to see. Allow the loving energy of the Divine to flow into every moment. If you cannot handle a situation with joy, enthusiasm or acceptance, it may be a good idea to take the time to shift your energy (or the energy of your home or work space) prior to continuing. This ensures that you are not sabotaging your own efforts with imbalanced energy – what you send out, returns.

You are stronger than you know. If you have forgotten or have yet to discover that, experiment a little bit. Consciously and purposely align yourself first thing today through gratitude, meditation, music or prayer, state the intention of what you desire to be or what energy you would like to project into the world and then pay attention to how the day unfolds.

Compassionate Detachment

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“There is a nobility in compassion, a beauty in empathy, a grace in forgiveness.”
~John Connolly~

It can be challenging to stand on the sidelines as someone you love struggles with a lesson, embraces limiting beliefs or wanders the labyrinths of depression. Most people have someone in their lives who cannot be reached through well-meaning words, the sharing of books and ideas or the gift of compassion. They cannot move into a space of healing because the filters through which they view life simply will not allow it.

In those situations, the spiritual seeker must learn the art of Compassionate Detachment. Honoring the paths of those we love calls upon us to stand aside and allow them the dignity of discovery. Consider your spiritual awakening – it was a very personal breakthrough, wasn’t it?

If you try to move someone forward too quickly, well-intentioned actions can actually stunt their spiritual growth. It is also draining to worry, analyze or get frustrated – though all those very human responses are in our nature. Our role is to love without attachment. You may discover that this soul loves you enough to play the role of someone who is lost in order to facilitate your own expansion of consciousness.