growth
When We Fear The Turning Of The Tide
At this time in our world each person must examine their own thoughts and feelings on important issues. You might ask, “What does it matter what I think or feel? I am only one person nobody cares about my opinion!” Well, if everyone felt their voice did not matter, we would never create any change in our world.
It can be very difficult to find your own voice sometimes. To find your voice is to go within and discover your own truth. Each of us have a unique view of the world we live in.
It can be very challenging to speak your mind, especially is a group situation where others think differently. We often remain silent, because we fear rejection if we should stand alone in our beliefs and opinions.
The opinions of others can make us question our own judgment and shake our confidence. We become self-critical. Feelings of fear arise in us. We doubt our ability to express ourselves in a way that others will respect and understand.
The opposite is true also. When things are going along just fine in our personal world, it is often hard to realize and understand that not all people think and feel they way we do. People tend to associate for the most part with others that think and feel the same way.
It is easy to get comfortable in our own world, and avoid what is going on around us. But some point we will have no choice but to pull our head out of the sand. Even if we don’t realize it, the energy of a changing tide does affect all of us.
Express Yourself To Make Your Relationship Work
In some cases, the grass is actually greener on the other side when it comes to relationships. And the reason for that? Well, they simply take better care of their lawn! With that said, I would like to come straight to the point. Relationships are hard work; they are not for the timid, lazy or faint-hearted.
Relationships have many levels to explore, and there is usually much trial and error involved. We all expect a fair and honest relationship, characterized by love, mutual understanding, devotion, passion, happiness and fulfillment of our dreams. We all look for growth, improvement and change, as well as commitment and certainty, and yet, there is always the unknown in the equation.
The ‘unknown’ is everything about a relationship we have yet to experience with the other person, in different settings and circumstances. So, how to deal with the unknown? In my daily work, I too often hear the following: “I told him that some time ago,” or “She should know that about me by now.” Well, to know something about another person, and the actual understanding of this information, can often be two very different things. You and your partner may have a different understanding.
So, if you were expecting your partner to consider your birthday or anniversary plans without telling him exactly what you had in mind, he will no doubt disappoint you – unless he has the gift of telepathy! How is he supposed to know what would you make happy?
Are You Living An Unexamined Life?
According to Socrates, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” This statement is very powerful, yet it has a very simple meaning. What you do not change, does not change you. When your actions remain the same, so do the results. If you cannot examine the things that are eating at you, the things that have gone wrong in your life, and even the things that have gone right, nothing changes.
We must look at our life and go behind the mask that we may be wearing, to cover up the fact that we are vulnerable inside. There are often so many aspects to our life that requires change in order to move forward to a better place.
For example, are you repeatedly settling for the same type of person as a partner and find it constantly failing? Are you going to a dead-end job day in and day out, that you hate so much that merely entering the workspace already makes you despise the day before it even starts? Do you look in the mirror and see things about yourself that makes you miserable?
Take off the mask of pretension and make an effort to change what isn’t working. Examine why you keep repeating the same patterns.
If you are ending up with the same type of person every time, ask yourself why? Are you trying to meet someone in the same way? Are you settling for someone that is not all that you would like, but feel it’s better than to have no one at all? Are you compromising on what you want? If they are not what you seek, cut them loose. They are not going to suddenly change.
Spiritual Transcendence Requires Human Interaction
You are pure energy. That is your soul and you chose to incarnate in this world to experience the duality of energy and matter. You chose this because there are learnings available here on Earth in material form that are not available when one is a ball of light. Therefore, human contact, or human interaction is as important as the experiences of energy when we are incarnated here on Earth.
You have the opportunity in this lifetime to transcend. Incarnation gives you that opportunity. You should rise to the occasion – after all you signed up for it. Running away from the physical inconveniences of incarnation is not the best of choices, if you are interested in transcendence and living an awakened life – unless your life path is one of abstinence.
If you have never practiced any kind of abstinence (fasting, voluntary poverty, celibacy) trust me when I say that it too has challenges, especially in the beginning. This is something to think about if you do practice any form of abstinence. Are you running away? Or are you taking on a spiritual practice to help you with your transcendence. And how can you be sure?
In today’s world, social media, texting, and virtual interaction prevail. There is a trend of decline in the skills of human relations, physical interaction and social skills. We see this in the workplace, as well as in our romantic relationships, family dynamics and parenting. We suffer a loss in our quality of human interaction in many ways, such as fulfillment, honesty, authenticity, conflict resolution, intimacy and many more areas. We are by our nature social creatures, and learning to be social simply cannot happen online. Equally, learning about and working with others humans is a different experience in person than online. You might prefer online, but make sure you understand your choice and consider if you are choosing avoidance rather than engagement.
What Is Blocking Your Progress?
Picture yourself driving down a nice country road. There is no traffic to speak of, the sun is shining beautifully in the cloudless sky, and all is right with the world. You have no particular timeline or agenda in mind, this is a rare moment of bliss which you totally intend to take advantage of.
But, as you come around the next bend in the road, there, out of the blue, appears to be an exceptionally large branch completely blocking the way. What to do now? Well, you have always thought of yourself as a somewhat smart and resourceful soul, so there is no doubt in your mind that you will arrive at a logical and workable conclusion.
After careful examination, you begin to realize this is a little more serious than what you had initially thought, so now alternate plans must be put in place. Out comes the trusted cell phone, to call the nearest towing company. Perhaps they will be able to haul the branch out of the way!
Oh no, you are in a cellular dead zone and there is no signal, so the calling option is out. What next? Well, with a little pushing and prodding, maybe you could clear the path yourself? After an exhausting attempt you quickly realize this is not going to work either. Time out is called for, so you may rally all your brilliant thoughts to reach a viable and successful conclusion.
Then you have an inspired idea. If all else fails, maybe you can navigate around the branch just enough to get free and clear, and continue on your merry way? You try and…well, lo and behold, that worked amazingly well!
Do You Prefer Spiritual School, Or Life School?
Your life path was designed by you and your guides, for you to evolve as a soul. This means everyone is on a spiritual path, whether they know it or not, and whether they believe in spirituality or not. We do not ‘have to’ consciously work on ourselves. Life is the ultimate teacher, and you will learn what you came here to learn, one way or another. Whether you learn well, or your learning is average, or if you don’t learn much of what you came here to learn (and have to come back for a do-over) life and life circumstances will teach you.
How much and how well you learn is completely up to each individual. If you decide you want to consciously work on yourself, that does not, in and of itself, make you a better person or more advanced than others. What matters most concerning a choice to do conscious work on yourself is how you take on the work and the energy behind your choice.
If you think you are broken, or you want power and prestige, your work on yourself runs the risk of being inauthentic and even abusive towards yourself. Choose to work on yourself because you are unhappy in life, or something, some energy, is ‘nudging’ you to learn more regarding self-mastery and being an authentic being, living with integrity, morality and ethics. You might want to read Awakening Loving-Kindness by Pema Chodron, as a starting point to better understand your choices regarding doing conscious work on yourself.
The Spiritual Symbolism Of The Pelican
When a bird flies directly onto your path, or you see images or photos of the same bird repeatedly, within a relatively short space of time, this is often a spiritual sign that the energy of this bird is calling or guiding you.
I live on the coast and I am lucky to be able to watch various seabirds, and encounter other birds drawn to the local water ways. The pelican is one bird that has specifically caught my attention. The day I was inspired to paint this amazing bird, he literally strutted down the hallway of my home!
Even to this day, pelican continues to literally soar into my experience whenever I need to draw on his wisdom. Even though they seem large and clumsy, there is something gentle and caring about their nature. If pelican has waddled or soared onto your path, let his wisdom and symbolism guide your way.
I started building my connection with the pelican’s energy by observing and sketching the local birds. Through the process I found a sense of awe for the pelican’s beauty, which was a shift in my perception, as I had never before considered them to be very attractive birds.
I also noticed they followed a set routine, and similar flight paths, depending on the weather. It inspired me to become more aware of my own patterns and habits. At this time my work schedule had become somewhat unbalanced and dysfunctional, without me being aware of the impact. Pelican taught me that it is vital for my self-care to ensure that I work within a routine and structure that better supports my creative outlets and energy levels.