Words—no matter how intangible they seem—hold so much meaning.
Because of words, we can tell our stories, share our dreams, and mouth our aspirations. They can spark a revolution and inspire people to push for a meaningful cause.
At the same time, words are powerful enough to become weapons of negativity. They can hurt, alienate, and discriminate. Words can become too hateful and judgmental, that is why we should use them mindfully.
No matter how gently I offer it, sometimes the information is very difficult for the person to hear, such as, "Right now, you are pulling on everyone for love and approval. You have handed your inner child to everyone around you to take care of you. There must be a good reason you are doing this. Are you open to exploring this?" or "There must be a very good reason that there is no loving adult present here. There is just a wounded child. Are you willing to open to learning about this?" or "I cannot feel you when you cry like this. This pain is the pain of a victim, trying to get someone to take care of you. This is pain that you are causing by your own self-judgment and self-abandonment. This crying is a pull on others to take care of you. You hope others will feel sorry for you and have compassion for you because you have no compassion for yourself. There must be some very good reasons that you are abandoning yourself right now. Are you willing to open to learning about this?"
They think I am judging them rather than offering them a truth. They do not get that truth is love - authentic radical love. Without knowing the truth about their intention and their behavior, they cannot heal. The truth opens the door for them to start loving themselves instead of spending all their energy trying to get others to love them.
Belief, when experienced as a teacher without a name, enables us to enliven a kinship between the living part and the living Whole. Such sustained care begins to heal us. With humility, it is not our place to denounce what others believe in, but to use the sincerity of their example as an encouragement to find our own particular inlets into the Mystery of Life.
The most basic need in anyone’s life is to feel safe. All other attainments are built from this baseline. If you usually feel safe, you are likely to be more productive in your life. But we can all remember times when there were serious setbacks. Then a downward spiral can develop. Whatever the emotion that overtakes us—feeling weak, unwanted, desperate, dejected, or anxious—there is one common element: We feel isolated and alone.
Your spiritual journey and your life journey are actually one and the same. There is no such thing as a journey without Spirit (even if you don’t believe in it – you have a soul, and that alone is an important thing to note!). We are all spiritual beings here to have a human experience. If you’re a spiritual seeker, it simply means you’ve chosen to walk through your life with a conscious awareness of yourself and your relationship to your Higher Power and all that entails.
On the path of personal growth and spiritual awakening, it’s natural to have questions! There are so many different ways to invest in your self-discovery and growth. Each new tool, concept, or practice can help you live a fulfilling, Spirit-led life.
Recently, I reached out to our community to find out the burning questions you have about spirituality, personal growth, and all things woo-woo. Today I want to share my answers and insights with you to some of the most common questions I received.
We have an innate need to rise above ourselves, to open ourselves to higher influences.
Our present condition is imagining what we need to do in order to get above ourselves, never seeing that whatever we imagine belongs to our past, to something known. In a manner of speaking, it belongs to the very earth -- the body of ideas and social values, morals, traditions, religious icons -- all those things that seem to lift us, but in truth sit beneath us and drag us down into their world, into tension and further division.
You are, whether you see it or not, in a constant state of tension. There’s always something that has to be fought with and overcome. And the mind doesn’t discern. It can be fighting with its past. You can be tense because of relationships that have been gone for fifty years, but you don’t know it because the mind calls up an image, imbues it with the sensation and emotion from the experience, and then puts you in a struggle to try to free yourself from it… which is tension.
The spirit of hope and expectancy is very much alive during this season; which is often called the most wonderful time of the year. This season is a time when many faith traditions and religions are celebrating the magic of high holy days. There is Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, just to name a few and so many more celebrations. Most, if not all have stories that are about the miracle of life and hope. These stories have unexplained or miraculous phenomenal occurrences articulated to help inspire people and give them a sense of hope.
Many of these stories are based on mystical or magical journeys. I personally believe these stories are not just for the time period beginning with Thanksgiving at the end of November through January 1st each year. If we are willing to commit ourselves to carrying the stories’ spirit of hope and expectancy, we can experience their meaning through every day of our lives. We can experience wonder, possibility, and hope as our new normal.
If you’re like me, you’re a big believer in symbols and signs. You also view signs and symbols as to how you’re being guided by spirit.
The most prominent form of spirit communication that involve symbols, are our dreams.
This is because while we are dreaming we are not actually in our physical bodies. This is the best time for spirit to communicate with us and show us things. They communicate with pictures and symbols because it’s the easiest way for them to get their messages across.
Every person has their own list of symbols and meanings. Those are symbols that are unique to them. There are also similarities in the symbols we see as a collective.
The coronavirus mandate to “stay at home” has meant different things to different people. For some, it has meant freedom from external-world busyness and distractions and a return to inner peace and quiet. To others, it has felt like unwanted confinement and loss of in-person social contact. Some have lost their jobs and incomes; others, like healthcare workers, have had no choice but to leave the “safety” of home to provide critical services, despite the risks. All of us are suddenly facing issues of life and death. Our entire world, inside and out, has changed radically and continues to do so. In the midst of these huge ongoing changes, what does home mean?
Have you ever experienced a particular place where you’ve felt closer to God, Spirit, or Heaven? You just know there’s something special about that place, and it feels as though it touches your very soul.
The sense of peace and tranquility encompasses your whole being, and for some inexplicable reason you’re drawn to this place, even though you don’t truly know why. When you’re there, it’s almost as if the veil between this world and the next has been lifted, if only for a short time.
In the Celtic tradition, such places are called “Thin Places.” There’s a Celtic saying that Heaven and Earth are only three feet apart, but in these Thin Places, the distance is even smaller.
Thin Places not only make us feel calm but also transform us, as if we’re being unmasked. While we’re at these places, we’re aware that we’re far more than just a physical being — we feel ourselves as a spiritual being, our true essential selves: body, mind, and soul. The Thin Places can be found anywhere on the planet, including churches, temples, beautiful landscapes, and ancient ruins.
We are getting into February and still thinking of the New Year in terms of rejuvenating, here I feel that the mind, body, spirit connect is essential.
Earlier for me, the evolution of the mind and soul seemed to be of the utmost importance, and my "divine love" seeking spirit, spent every iota of my breathtaking Self, in evolving at that level only. But I feel now that, as my own Consciousness and awareness changes, it is very important for me to share with my readers, the importance of improving our physical bodies.
So many unexpected events and experiences have arisen in the process of moving from Massachusetts to Florida, everything from the sale of the house where we rented there to finding a condo here that far exceeds anything we could have imagined. Probably the most surprising pop-up occurrence was finding out that I had to have my name legally changed in order to obtain a Florida driver’s license. What?! Well, you see, my mother named me “Peggy,” but she used “Margaret” on my birth certificate because the former was traditionally considered a nickname for the latter and not the real name. Of course, today no one cares much about that tradition, and you can name your child “Redwood” if you so choose.
Last fall, the house where my partner Anne and I lived in Massachusetts went up for sale. We knew immediately that that For Sale sign was also a sign from God: Time to move on! A door was closing, but another was so clearly being opened. Fortunately, we had a lease that allowed us to remain in our apartment for several months after the house was sold. We had plenty of time to make decisions and then step through that open door into new possibilities. As events unfolded, we felt guided to move to Florida, where we had a number of friends, and the winters did not include snow, ice, and freezing temperatures. Also (and this was key), we discovered that buying a condo there was less expensive than the rent we were currently paying in Boston. Neon signs pointing south…
I have so many memories that involve finding joy in being by myself. One of the most vivid was when I worked for a senator as a student intern in Washington, DC, in college. One lunch hour I wandered around outside the Capitol Building alone and then sat in the sun in a quiet spot where no one else was walking. I can remember having a sudden flash of absolute exhilaration when the thought crossed my mind, “No one else on Earth knows where I am right now.” There was something incredibly exciting about that to a 19-year-old living in a new city, trying out grown-up life on her own. I’ve never forgotten that feeling—of being an alive, independent, free spirit in the world.
POWER!
The Power to be definitive in who we are.
The Power to take control of our lives.
The Power to fulfill our dreams.
The Power to follow our hearts.
The Power to take a chance.
The Power to Become.
The Power to change.
The Power to lead.
The Power to do.
The Power to become a part of something larger than ourselves.
