inner voice
Do It Anyway
No matter what we go through in life and with who, we always come back to the same place… a familiar place of being alone. The thought occurred to me the other day that we come into this world alone, and we go out alone.
Though we may be surrounded by others, at the end of the day, we are still alone when we go to sleep at night. Even if we are married, or in a relationship with someone who sleeps next to us, we still enter into the sleep state or dream state, alone.
Have you ever noticed that people who are comfortable being alone, have somehow mastered being alone without being lonely? There is a true comfort, freedom, and delight in being by oneself, alone. When we are alone, we can take an honest inventory of our life, who we choose to spend time with, and also decide how we wish to spend our time.
The relationship arena seems to be one of the most challenging areas of life. We all fall into traps and pitfalls that can steer us away from our natural state of happiness , which we come home to when we are alone. However, relationships also seem to provide a fast track for our own personal growth by revealing how we interact with other people.
Our relationships point out areas within ourselves that may require growth or increased self-love. Simply put, relationships show us exactly where we need to focus on to come back to a state of wholeness.
The Power Of Creativity To Transform And Heal
Creative play is a crack, or a doorway into another part of ourselves… into our intuitive and spiritual nature. To explore our creativity is to open that door of possibility.
It is easy to doubt our creativity when we compare ourselves to others, and to great artists of the past. Through their life stories and work, the master artists left reminders, showing us that creativity is not something we are taught, but rather something we are. Tapping into this is about experiencing this for ourselves, in whatever form that may be.
I took up painting as a hobby in my late 20s. It began as a desire to learn to paint, although I held the belief that I wasn’t really creative, given my Finance and Accounting background. I had never considered Art to be healing, or that it held personal healing benefits.
At the beginning of my journey, I immersed myself in art books and read about other artists. I also joined a local art group. In class one day, I felt inspired to paint the Buddha. From the moment I picked up my brush to paint him, I could feel a presence by my side and I could see in the blank canvas the face that was to appear, long before it was visible to anyone else. That painting is the piece that changed the direction of my life path, as I embraced my creative and spiritual gifts.
Turning up to a blank canvas, is like saying yes to life and the unknown of what lays on our path. And there are many benefits of saying ‘yes’ to painting. Painting allows us to express ourselves through our work, it allows us a time and space to reflect on our life and the meaning we attached to our experiences.
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.
Digging Into The Primal Depths
As human beings, we are voraciously indulgent, pleasure-seeking creatures. We are instinctively driven by deeply embedded erotic, sensual needs that demand our attention. By neglecting or denying its ‘sense of urgency,’ a physical and mental ‘mortal combat’ ensues. We are stimulated by the thrilling edge of unknown horizons in forbidden sensuality. Ah! How we yearn for the ecstatic privilege to contact or engage the gregarious primal roar, and then release its euphoric orgasmic sigh of creation.
It is in those times alone that we are reconciled with the ramified, non-negotiable urge to devote all we have, are and ever will be to that which cannot be expressed, or even uttered in human words. During that inexpressible eternal moment, pain and pleasure are suspended forevermore.
How often are we aware enough to recognize and incorporate the electricity of immediate wonder into our lives, in the instant it occurs? On the other hand, can we ever be cognizant enough to embrace the disguised blessings hidden deeply within pain?
Our motives are never pure! If at any minute we deceive ourselves into believing they are, we suffer immeasurably through undisclosed discontent and unparalleled dissatisfaction. From that point on, we begin to build walls around us for protection. We misinterpret our own self-inflicted paranoia as a mal-aligned intent coming from another. We judge, criticize and condemn the smallest matters. We’re continuously on edge, refusing to see how insidious our demands are. The malicious face of pretense will catch us when we are the least bit aware. Most especially, when we honestly believe we are the ones without guile.
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.
Trusting The Process
We are never too old to learn new life lessons. I have been married for 38 years. I cherished our relationship. It was not perfect, but intentions were always good. I was treated very well by my spouse, and I returned the favor.
But I have to admit, I didn’t do most of the work around the house; my partner did most of it. It was not fair. However, it worked for us. I was also the outwardly more needy one. My partner’s needs were more disguised, but they were there.
The way we handled things worked for us, but then something happened recently that broke the trust between us. No, it was no due to an extramarital affair, nor any criminal activity. It was not due to any of the typical or usual things that negatively impact marriages, but it was pretty eye-opening nonetheless.
After this major wake-up call, we must now work on revamping our marriage, and it may, or may not, work out for us in the long run. This is a new journey for me. I am walking in the dark on an unknown path, and I feel lost, but I will have to learn to trust the process.
Learning To Love Yourself
Sadly, my inner-critic began speaking to me at a relatively young age and continued to do so well into my 20s and beyond. Personally, I feel this played a large part in me losing my job at the age of 24, during the 1980s recession. It was a time in which work was so hard to find, and when I finally did, even more negative self-talk began to have an effect on my life.
With no job and no money, I felt worthless, stupid, disliked, and that I had no potential whatsoever. Most fortunately, however, I proved myself to be wrong and later found, from experience, that the way to a happier, more confident and fulfilled life was by learning to slay that inner critic and start loving myself. Furthermore, you can too! Here’s how.
Firstly, remember that you do have a choice. Which one will you listen to: your inner critic or your inner guide? I remember the time when I told my family I was going to start working in the spiritual field. Yes, they laughed and said to me that it would never work out for me, and I that I could not do it.
Sadly, this boosted my inner critic once again, but at this particular time in my life, circumstances and the need for a more fulfilling job made me look at things from a different perspective.