inner guidance
How To Live A More Spiritually Aware Life
To lead a more spiritual, and therefore a happier and more fulfilled life, you do not need to develop a passion for incense, or hire a guru to assist you in going through some form of spiritual awakening. Instead, you may be comfortable with more down to earth approach.
Firstly, it is important to recognize that religion and spirituality are not necessarily the same things. Religion is just one form of spiritual practice. Spirituality itself is something that comes from within the individual.
Spiritual awareness is a sustained belief that there is much more to life than meets the eye, something greater than yourself, even though you have no evidence for it. Hold onto this belief or feeling, as it is very, very real!
One of the best ways to get in touch with your spirituality is to spend time in nature. It does not matter whether you live, in a town, city, or rural area, connecting with nature is imperative, as it will help to bring a sense of peace to your overworked mind, and it will uplift your spirit with its rejuvenating power. By doing so, it will assist with your spiritual development.
To become more spiritually aware it is also important to learn to control your inner dialogue. Becoming a more spiritual person involves monitoring your inner voice and making sure that your self-talk is healthy. Meditation can be particularly helpful in this respect, as well as recognizing any negative thought patterns or false beliefs that you may have.
Choosing A Spiritual Path With Heart
There are many blind choices we make when we are too young or inexperienced to make the best decisions for ourselves. We are born into a family, or raised in a culture, for example, with its unique traditions and beliefs, or lack thereof, and we are usually quite susceptible in our youth to these influences.
In the process of becoming an adult, the questioning of such beliefs and traditions leads us towards who we will become, to discovering what truly resonates with us, and what does not. But this is something we may have taken lightly in our youth, and therefore needs to be looked over several times in our life to find out with real sincerity what is truly calling us.
It is possible that being born in a traditional Christian home, for example, we felt constrained and limited, even small and powerless, ultimately causing us to reject all dogmatic religion. For someone else, brought up maybe in an atheist home, the search for God or faith may bring a profound sense of empowerment and life purpose that nurtures their life. It all depends on us as individuals, and how we process our own reality.
Carlos Castaneda writes in The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, “Before you embark on any path ask the question: does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, you will know it, and then you must choose another path. The trouble is nobody asks the question; and when a man finally realizes that he has taken a path without a heart, the path is ready to kill him.”
Entering The Lions Gate
We are fast approaching the metaphysically significant date of 8/8 this month – a day that is known as The Lions Gate. This is an excellent time to take a look a look at what meaningful events have occurred in your life over the last year, as well as any wounds that may have been triggered for us.
The Lions Gate is a time of alignment of the Earth, the star Sirius, and the galactic center. As Sirius rises in the sky, Orion’s Belt directly aligns with the Pyramid of Giza. The alignment is called Lions Gate, because it occurs when the Sun is in the astrological sign of Leo.
Sirius is known as our ‘Spiritual Sun.’ We are constantly bathed in the cosmic rays generated by the Sirius system, which includes Sirius A, the larger star, and its binary twin, the dwarf star, known as Sirius B.
The ancient Egyptians celebrated the New Year at this time of Sirius’s heliacal rise, or first appearance on the Eastern horizon just before sunrise. This was also the time of year when the Nile River would flood, bringing life and fertility to the fields. It is interesting to note that the ancient Egyptians somehow knew of the existence of the dwarf star, Sirius B, despite the fact that it is not visible to the naked eye.
Around July 6, Sirius is conjunct to our Sun, starting a phase of its closest proximity to our solar system, and there is upswing in the cosmic rays which infuse us with photon light energy, light codes and divine wisdom. These cosmic rays, with all its spiritual information and activations, are automatically received by all life on Earth, as well as the planet herself.
Honor Your Most Magnificent Self This Summer
Taking time to experience the wonder of the summer season truly is medicine for the soul. My favorite summer activities include dipping my toes in a nearby lake or ocean, feeling the healing energy of the natural quartz sand against my skin, and finding renewal in the essence of the season.
Too often we move through our days and weeks completely engulfed in work, and the chatter of the bustling world. Our lives tend to be caught up in the motion of the world, with little time for self-care and centering.
Many of us awake in the mornings to the national news that often leaves us drained even before our day begins. We shower, have breakfast, down a cup of coffee, and anxiously show up for our families and our careers.
Many hours later, we return to our homes, where we are met with even more news via network and cable outlets, competing with their own spin on identical breaking stories. We reach for our smart phones or laptops and headlines scroll across our screens. When is enough truly enough?
In light of the endless social and environmental concerns permeating our planet, our species is globally experiencing stress like never before. But surely the Divine Presence within our amazing Universe would not leave us stranded on Planet Earth without the tools to transcend stress and what seems like utter chaos.
Spirit Says You Can’t Please Everyone
I have learned that people-pleasing is something that one simply cannot do. People must learn to do it for themselves. We cannot please everyone all of the time, and some people will never be satisfied anyway, no matter how much time, energy and love we offer them. They are simply not ever going to be happy, no matter what. Period.
I can think of various situations where one might feel the need to coddle and people-please those we love and care for, but in the end it will only bring us self dis-ease and stress.
For example, the child who tries to please and be there and do everything for the parent. Why is this a bad idea? Well, the parent may give up if their child tries to do everything for them. Especially if they are older and trying to find themselves and re-establish their own life, after taking care of everyone else their whole life.
Sometimes we can smother an ageing parent with kindness, by trying to do too much for them. When we do this, it makes them second guess their ability to do things for themselves. It may even cause them to worry, have anxiety, or become fearful of living.
It is good to be there for one’s elderly parents, however there is a line that can be crossed if we try and do too much and make them feel like they cannot do certain things anymore. Sure, if their driver’s license has been taken from them, for example, and they cannot see well anymore, then obviously driving them places makes sense. But, if they are still able to function normally, then let them!
Your Inner Child
You are never too old, too wise, or too ‘spiritually advanced’ to improve upon your relationship with your beautiful and wise inner child. I teach my students how to go inside and connect, to Self, so they can be receptive to the teachings and healings of Spirit. If no one is home, in your body, in your emotions, in your current life, then there is no one home to receive guidance from Spirit.
Your Higher Self, unlike other spiritual guides that you may have (or think you have) has only one agenda: your highest good for the evolution of your Soul. It does not represent any other groups, opinions or agendas. Your Higher Self is concerned with your life lessons. It keeps you on your path, and keeps you connected to Source.
Your Higher Self is that energetic part of you that is in constant contact with the Divine Source. It is this divine relationship to Source which functions as the central coordinator of your life’s plan – the one you created when you were Soul working with Source, the life you are currently living.
However, if you are emotionally wounded, be it from childhood abuse or neglect, or life circumstances, such as trauma, war, assault, racism, rape, extreme poverty, and so on, you will have emotional blocks and your energy pathways will be corrupted or twisted. You will be unable to be in a deep, loving and respectful relationship with Self. Your Higher Self’s connection to Source is then corrupted and weakened, like hearing static on your phone line.
Spiritual Hypnosis
Did you know that there are parts of your consciousness from which your spiritual being transmits? Many of us tend to trudge forward on a little known path toward finality, oblivious to our spiritual being. We often only dwell in the here and now of the conscious mind, and we forget or neglect those aspects of us that pertain to our higher spiritual self.
Each one of us has a spiritual mind. It’s our wise mind, the all knowing self, which guides us to seek peace, to love one another, and to forgive others, as well as ourselves. It calls us to be healers in every sense of the word, to seek bliss and enlightenment, and to have a better human life in a better way.
Some hypnotherapists, who practice spiritual hypnosis, define our different levels of consciousness as follows:
The Conscious Mind – from which comes everyday thoughts, actions, logic and judgment
The Subconscious Mind – where all your life experiences, memories, feeling, habits, and reactions associated with them, are stored, as well as our unconscious body actions such as heart beat, breathing, digestion, bio-action, and so on.
The Super-Conscious Mind – the I am of the higher self, of unconditional love, light, and wisdom; being of peace, compassion, forgiveness and the bliss of enlightenment.
The Unconscious Mind – the over-soul of all incarnations of lifetimes; stored karma.