Tag Archives: #freedom

Learning Through Emotion

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As a creature who is at ease in the water, duck teaches us to be comfortable with our emotions. The highs and lows of emotional responses are the epitome of our human experience.

Many people struggle due to their repressed emotions. No matter what type of baggage someone may carry, it often seems to get triggered by the most innocuous of interactions. After a sudden storm of emotional reaction and intensity, both parties are left wondering just what happened.

When we involve others in our expressions of anger, we risk triggering their wounds and compounding the situation. If you happen to express emotion with an enlightened person, they will help you process in a healthy way. It’s best to cultivate the ability to observe, feel, process and release whatever arises within us. Otherwise, the absorbed energy knocks the body out of balance and we manifest physical issues that help us to understand where the blockage is.

Ducks, after a squabble, will briefly shake their bodies, flap their wings and then swim away calmly. This teaches us the power of releasing negative energy. Feelings appear, often unexpectedly and we should honor them as sacred. Observe the thoughts that arise. You may discover something that is ready to be healed and released.

The Practice of Detachment

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There is nothing wrong with having preferences nor with voicing them. They make life a little more fun and often spark joy that is both personal and playful. However, when preferences become demands, suffering is created in your experience. Observe how attached you are by measuring the degree of disappointment that arises when things don’t work out as you might have preferred. This can be a rich area of practice.

The practice of detachment begins with conscious acceptance. When we immerse ourselves deeply within the present moment we create space within our life situations. Gratitude is the doorway into objectivity. It raises our vibration to such a degree that we can breathe life into our experiences yet remain detached from limiting perception and reactivity.

Compassionate detachment does not stop us from offering love and kindness to those with whom we interact. It allows us to share our energy in a way that is fulfilling rather than depleting and empowered instead of guilt-ridden. Conscious action is pure.

Like those who plant trees they will never sit under, we sow seeds of loving-kindness even though we may not see the outcome. It’s enough to know that you are bringing the best version of yourself to the present moment. Detach, be here now and allow the future to take care of itself.

Repeating Patterns

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“Constantly focusing on the limitations, instead of all the possibilities, is how people become stuck in their lives. It only serves to recreate the same old reality from day to day. And soon the days turn into years, and lifetimes.”
~Anthon St. Maarten~

Everyone has a filter through which they view the world. Their energetic vibration and long-held beliefs are displayed again and again until they are recognized. Whenever you notice a repeating pattern that limits joy in your experience, realize that the first step is becoming aware of it. From a space of awareness, you can consciously choose to break free from outmoded patterns of behavior and leave them behind.

For many, intense emotional/mental/physical/spiritual disruption is the only thing that awakens them from the dreams created by the projections of the mind; however, we can circumvent this process by consciously continuing to do our spiritual work in times of relative peace. This is the moment of transformation. No matter what comes into your experience, you have the courage and fortitude to face it with faith… and while nothing is guaranteed on this journey of the soul, the changes you create within will surely play out in your daily experiences.

When you reach toward the light, it also reaches out to you. Love will always meet you where you are and walk forward with you from there. Seek to constantly clear limiting patterns that sabotage your happiness. One tool is to step back from the situation and observe the thought – perhaps saying, “The ego is in fear mode” or “Anxiety is arising”. Rather than absorbing the limiting thought or emotion, just see it and experience it as the observer knowing that the infinite, Divine truth of who you are is not defined by these fleeting ideas of insecurity or doubt. Something greater is waiting to break through, shattering the patterns of limitation and opening the door to a life of empowerment.

The Untroubled Spirit

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“The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.”
~Marcus Aurelius~

When you can see beyond the mechanisms of the ego, you are well on your way to a life unencumbered by drama. The actions of others always demonstrate their the filter through which they view the world. Since you cannot please all the people all the time, you are free to live in your integrity.

Nothing matters more than your state of consciousness in the present moment. The awakening soul learns to be non-reactive in intense situations and waits for the appropriate time to take action. As we drop reactivity, our energy becomes more focused and succinct. The way forward makes itself known and we can act while remaining detached from the outcome.

In a world beset with judgment, intensity and blame, we have the opportunity to demonstrate a different way of being. Create spaces that are peaceful for you. Fill your life experience with things that bring you joy, but remain content. Through the wisdom born of experience, one can see clearly yet still choose to walk through life with an untroubled spirit.

Love’s Gifts

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Love, given freely, is extraordinarily powerful. It transforms both the giver and the receiver. It awakens desire that is beyond the ego-driven self and weaves the threads that bind us together. These inter-connective threads are simultaneously both our weakness and our strength. What harms one, harms all. What heals one, heals all.

When you consider how your dreams, words and actions impact the whole, it transforms your perception of self-interest. The awakened soul views life through the filters of expanded consciousness and contemplates the whole when seeking right action.

Love must be included in all that we do. Communication without love is condescending. Action without love is destructive. Listening without love is selfish. Work without love is drudgery. Conversely, love transforms service into joy, kindness into healthy expression and enthusiasm into artistic expression.

Your purpose is to love. When you choose to live with an open heart, you create space in which transformation can occur. Sparks of joy and inspiration shine like beacons in the darkness. Whether recognized or unrecognized, energy flows along the threads that bind us together. Never doubt the impact you have on those around you. Love seeks to express itself through you.

Empowerment

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The quickest way to empowerment is by taking personal responsibility for all that you experience. This creates greater insight through introspection, conscious action and awareness. Consider adding humor into the mix and watch the process of change become more pleasurable.

Blame is often used as a tool of avoidance. We project energy at another person, situation or idea to distract ourselves from looking within. Since the world is our reflection, circumstances will often arise which provide an opportunity for us to recognize what we’ve spend a lifetime trying to avoid. It’s important to remember that the core of life’s practice is joy. We can only reach that state by stepping into personal responsibility.

Everything is energy and is mutable, light and constantly transforming. Should you ever find yourself going into blame mode, simply notice, quiet the mind and examine what you are projecting outward. All blame is a reflection of how we see ourselves. This insight can be one of the most powerful aspects of your spiritual awakening.

There is a vast and infinite amount of energy available. You can access it, not by planning or thinking, but by being centered and silent enough to allow it to flow through you. This light and love awakens your potential.

Being Love

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“Spiritual practice is about increasingly entering into love – not personal love, but the love that is the nature of our being.”  
~Ezra Bayda~ 

The purpose of our journey is to discover the love that resides at the root of all situations. Unconditional love – for oneself as well as others – once discovered, is something that no one can take from you. How empowering it is to find a way to love even those who may have caused you harm. Great freedom awaits those who seek this high level of consciousness.

You can create space in which transformation can occur. When demonstrating love for a child, life partner, friend or family member, allow for infinite possibilities to be explored. Support them as they navigate their journey of awakening by being a consistent force of loving kindness in their experience.

When someone feels trusted, accepted and loved, they thrive. With no opposition, one can experience expansion rather than wasting precious energy on protection, explanations or defensiveness.

The best way to provide this space of empowerment is to continue your own work. When we focus on ourselves and explore the nuances of  conscious living, we bring greater awareness to all of our interactions.

The Infinite Facets of Love

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“Traditional Sufi wisdom teaches that we are the creation and manifestation of Infinite Love, and that every event and circumstance of our lives serves to awaken us and remind us that true happiness and security is to be found in the deepest center of ourselves where we are closest to that Infinite Love, where our true needs will be met.”

~Shaikh Kabir Helminski~

Think of all that you understand about love – love of life, appreciation of nature, the depths of lifelong friendships, the intensity of infatuation and attraction, the nuanced layers of commitment and kindness, caring for those in need, the desire to alleviate suffering, the warmth of a long hug, the loneliness of loss… and everything in between. Now realize that love is our only true purpose and with all that we’ve discovered, we’re still at the beginning of true wisdom.

Consider that your purpose is to infuse love into everything that you do. Love gives. Love receives. Love expands. This world is nothing but an opportunity to see what love can do when, in it’s authentic form, it is set into motion and given the freedom to move. If there is any space in your life where love does not seem to reside, it is there your work lies.

Acceptance

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“Intimacy is a totally different dimension. It is allowing the other to come into you, to see you as you see yourself, to allow the other to see you from the inside, to invite somebody to that deepest core of your being.” 

~Osho~

When you love and accept yourself, there is no fear. You allow others to experience the truth of who you are. You share your light with the world without seeking outside validation, for there is no need. You are safe in your expression of the Divine.

It’s easy to be open with someone who accepts and understands you. It becomes a little more challenging with those who judge or even attack you, and harder yet with those who trigger old wounds. However, each of these situations teaches something different. Every moment is an opportunity to bring the best version of yourself to your life situation. Act with integrity, do your best, accept what is.

Love has nothing to do with desire or neediness, only giving. It is a powerful flow of energy that attaches to nothing but resides openly within the present moment. It does not fluctuate based upon events because it isn’t dependent upon external factors. It has the capacity to create dramatic change due to the purity of the energy.

Life is a dance of contrasts, experience and expansion. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing the mystery of ruthless acceptance in motion.

How We Awaken

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Prior to birth we arrange various soul contracts to facilitate awakening. These may show up as foundational family experiences, “chance encounters”, finding someone with whom we are deeply connected or anything imaginable. From the human perspective, we may not consciously recognize them; however, the patterns begin to show themselves clearly as we age.

Celebrate those who have played a role in your spiritual evolution. From challenges to celebration, we are always on the path of transformation. Rather than regret past perceived mistakes, honor that something powerful may have come from them. When you say the wrong thing or your actions miss the mark, spirit may be working through you to trigger another into healing in their own experience. Be gentle with yourself and others – we are all fumbling our way towards ecstasy.

As we awaken, we tend to bring higher awareness to daily interplay. Without adding drama or creating conflict, we purposely focus on our state of consciousness in the present moment and choose to be a loving reflection for those with whom we interact. This is how we awaken. We help one another, love one another and spark the light of playfulness in our soul mates.