beliefs
Addicted To ‘Getting It’
One way to improve yourself, or change your life, is to gain understanding either through a teacher, a therapist, a nutritionist, a personal trainer, further study or research, and so on. One can then use your newly acquired understanding to implement change, which will also change your energy, because you implemented change you understood.
However, many people gain new understanding, but remain stuck in their inaction, their fear of taking action, of making different choices. Think about how many people you know who understand or ‘know’ how to eat healthily, how to exercise correctly, or to not jump into bed with just anyone. Then think about how many of those people put their understanding into actual action in their lives. You see my point?
Some also use understanding to get stuck. Everything has a double edge, light and dark, Yin and Yang. The art of living is a moving form of balance. Some people demand of themselves, others, even of Spirit, to be ‘given’ understanding, before they will take action (instead of working to gain that understanding for themselves). As if being ‘given understanding’ will somehow be a kind of protection, or guarantee of success.
When Spiritual Leaders Let Us Down
It is a hard lesson for some of us to learn that people are just people. We are all capable of good and evil. The difference is the choices that are made on how to handle our emotions and feelings.
When you put faith and trust in an individual and are let down, you start to second guess your decisions and lose some faith in yourself to make wise decisions. It can leave a big hole in your heart and create trust issues in the future.
It seems impossible for a person who has done remarkable good deeds to also choose to do bad things. We must realize that all people have temptations in life. Some people can avoid the albatross on their back, while others simply cannot. It takes a very strong person to walk their talk.
The same applies to ‘highly spiritual’ people, because some healers, gurus and spiritual leaders certainly have had their own cross to bear.
Crow Medicine
Crows often appear to me when I am about to make a significant change in my life. I recently moved to a nicer place, and a group of crows appeared outside my new home, signifying this was not the only change to come.
Crows also represents being adaptable, malleable and, of course, flexible. We are generally resistant to change, but change is the only constant in this life. When seeing crow in your personal surroundings, know it is time to change your thinking and perception about your current life circumstances. Sometimes we cannot see the forest beyond the trees.
Crow medicine teaches us to focus on the ‘bigger picture.’ Look at the whole story, instead of the worrying so much about the details. Leave the details to the Universe. It usually does turn out better than we had imagined!
Birds also act as messengers from Heaven. A bird showing up unexpectedly in your life is perhaps a loved who has crossed over and is wanting your attention. I remember one time it was my great grandmother whom I inherited my psychic, mediumship and healing abilities from.
Emotional Self-Care Through Daily Spiritual Practice
For those that are highly sensitive, including psychics, mediums, healers and empaths, awareness and self-care are critical to our overall well-being. If you are an individual that fits into this group and you are not doing daily maintenance on your emotional well-being and spiritual body, then you are leaving the gate wide open for an attack that can not only impact your emotions, but also your mental and physical health. This maintenance is achieved primarily through a daily spiritual practice.
Spiritual practice can be anything from prayer to meditation and is defined as the regular performance of actions and activities for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual development. Simply put, spirituality is the way you choose to find meaning, hope and inner peace in your life.
If you already adhere to a specific faith, tradition or religion, wonderful, but be certain that you are taking time each day to actively engage with your beliefs. Why is this important? Research has shown that those that engage in a regular spiritual practice live longer, and are healthier mentally and physically.
Little Miracles – Charms, Milagros And Ex-Votos
Years ago, my Grandfather gave me a gold bracelet. Upon his travels, or on special occasions in my life, he would gift me a charm to add to this bracelet. It was to remind of the things I loved or accomplished.
These charms are all special to me, but the one that stands out is the gold angel he gave me one Christmas. I remember when opened the box, the Angel was sparkling. I knew she was inviting me through the doorway to the unseen – to be able to speak through the veil.
This was my initiation to charms. Today, I use them as talismans, jewelry, mementos, and for divining. I’m also a collector of small, unique boxes and that’s where my charms reside. Many of my charms are items that were passed down to me, such as a thimble, buttons, coins, safety pin, small crystal figurines, toys from cereal boxes’ I also have found objects, like feathers and an acorn. Some are purchased charms, and charm kits from my favorite artists.
No matter our background or culture, symbols are universal and they tell a story. When I use my charms for divination, I ask clients to select charms at random, or intentionally. I then read their chosen charms before they leave from a session. There is usually a charm or symbol that speaks to them that about a loved one, or someone that passed on. It’s often through this symbol we can speak to them or make that connection.
Using Labels To Avoid Doing The Work
I’m an introvert. I’m dysfunctional. I am an empath.
It is good to know about yourself. However a retreat into generalized labels will be an obstacle to further work. Generalizations are just that, generalizations. Generalizations are good for a quick conversation, but not for depth.
Now that you have learned something about yourself and have a label, you have some vocabulary to do more research on tools for healing. Now that you know your fallback position (I run away, I don’t set boundaries) you can start to learn about other tools, other choices.
In order to apply new choices, in order to catch your dysfunctional patterns you will need to be mindful. Mindfulness entails being specific, very specific, regarding each incident, each choice. Just like taking a daily inventory. Specificity and detail are needed to observe your current choices, to learn what Spirit is trying to teach you, and also for you to be able to note and celebrate progress made. Just like going on a diet, you need to be real, specific, use facts, use accurate information (as much as possible) via daily tracking and detailed recall.
The Divine Light Within You
Namaste. This is a term that is often used in Yoga practices and certain spiritual services. The word itself is a salutation which means, “The divine light in me honors the divine light in you.” Often people will say this unconsciously. However, it is a spiritual truth that should remind us of the value of our own light and the light of others.
The truth is that you are the light of the world and you always have a choice to honor that light, or hide that light. Spiritual teacher, activist and author, Marianne Williamson, writes, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.”
The main block to experiencing your own light is fear and the main freedom from fear is love. You are here to be a service to the world. You incarnated for this reason. In fact, we are all here serving each other. Even when something terrible has happened, it gives us an opportunity to see what happens when love is not present within an action.