leadership
How To Find Your Inner Peace
Around the world we are being faced with a crisis situation that is bringing many negative feelings to the surface. Fear, anxiety, sadness, confusion, mistrust, frustration, anger. How you are faring during this time? What emotional responses are coming to the surface for you?
I have been following the news around the world. I have seen some leaders scoff at and make light of the situation, while others take it extremely seriously. There seems to be no unanimity or consistency in the messages we receive, and there appears to be a lack of consensus among the leadership and experts.
How then can we as individuals find inner peace and unity in all this chaos? The following guidelines may be helpful to you in the days ahead.
Turn Off The News
First things first: reduce your daily exposure to the news, and fact check everything you do choose to pay attention to. Most of all, do not believe everything you see on social media! Many of the stories going around are false reports, conspiracy theories and fake news. Some media outlets are also creating more fear and drama than we should have to deal with. Remember that in many cases sensationalism often equals sales. Choose your sources carefully and listen to your inner guidance and follow your intuition.
Showing Up When Spirit Calls
Many years ago, while working in a clinical practice, I was called to lead a group of women who were survivors of domestic abuse. At that time, my role within the organization was strictly administrative. I had no clinical experience and quite frankly had serious misgivings about how well these women would be served through our agency’s poorly-funded, piecemeal program with severe limitations.
As we were on the verge of losing our contract altogether, the executive director burst into my office one morning and announced that I would be the interim director of the domestic violence program, in order to save the contract. I sat motionless, with a look of deep concern on my face.
Before I could respond verbally, my executive director began reviewing a county contract that outlined the qualifications of the new program director. As she flipped through the pages of the lengthy contract, my hope was that somewhere in bold writing there might be a job description that required a clinical background in Psychology or Social Work, but this was not the case.
I recall that same day reaching out to my dear friend and confidant, a fellow psychic and spiritual counselor who always helped me find clarity, especially when I felt completely lost in a situation. While my friend’s words were comforting and reassuring, she also shocked me out of my comfort zone. I wanted to hear from her an easy way to get out of my new job assignment, but she announced that I had a calling to help a group of women whose lives desperately needed to be changed.
Lead By Example – A Message From My Guides
Many of you lead by example, without having to think about it. You obey traffic signals. You pick up garbage if you accidentally drop it. You hold doors open for others. You smile at strangers. You volunteer. You support local charities.
Entering the second month of this new decade, it might be a good time to re-think some old habits, and also lead from within.
For example, it may be a good idea to tone down those automatic, knee-jerk thoughts of annoyance, anger or retribution when someone pushes all-too-familiar buttons. Instead of allowing the cortisol and adrenaline to skyrocket within your body, think things through, before reacting negatively. Resist the urge to speak hurtful comments, even if your basic premise is sound. Find a constructive way to get your point across.
Sometimes it is tempting to jump on the bandwagon for likes and shares on social media platforms. However, if the topic is not kind, hold your tongue. Instead, be the person who can be counted on for level-headed discourse, without vitriol.
In general, be kind to others. Give people some leeway when it is evident that they are trying their best. Catch them doing something right, instead of watching for errors and omissions. Give recognition and praise where warranted. It can mean so much and does not cost anything.
Be kind to yourself too. Banish negative self-talk. Give yourself the right to be human and allow yourself to make mistakes, without chastising yourself for an unimportant oversight. If a serious error does occur, do your best to rectify the issue in a timely manner, with a ‘note-to-self’ that you have learned from the situation and will not repeat it.
The Key Is In Your Hands
I received a lovely necklace as a gift recently, with a beautiful center stone and a small ‘skeleton key’ at the bottom. A skeleton key is a type of master key in which the serrated edge has been removed so that it can open numerous locks .I’ve seen these keys before, and remembered vaguely the symbolism, but I decided to refresh my knowledge by researching further the significance of this symbol.
Katie Pifer writes that keys have had a variety of spiritual symbolisms attached to it “for as long as man has had locks. They are connected with gateways and portals, doorways to the unknown, knowledge, mysteries, powers, initiations, new ways, forbidden things and answers to curious questions.”
Keys symbolize our ability to gain access to those things of either a material or spiritual nature that are of the greatest importance to us. The key is an object symbolic not only of opening doors to new paths that align with our desires, but also closing and locking doors to those things that we wish to leave behind.
Skeleton keys are considered to be a more powerful symbol, since they can open many different locks. Thus, they have been perceived to be the powerful ‘keys to the Kingdom,’ or the key to that someone special’s heart, and so on.
Skeleton Keys are traditionally also worn as powerful amulets. It is thought to be good luck to touch a key when you are entering a challenging or dangerous situation, because keys are believed to keep you safe. They are also symbolic of transformation, freedom and liberation.
Spiritual Or Religious?
There are those of us who describe ourselves as “spiritual, but not religious.” But what does that really mean? Spirituality can be defined in many different ways, and it is a very personal matter.
Everyone has the right to decide for themselves what belief system or philosophy resonates most with their heart. In my view, there are many different spiritual paths that all lead to the same destination.
To be spiritual, for me, is to practice being kind to others and myself. It is simply about the ‘golden rule’ of treating others the way you wish to be treated. Truly spiritual people, no matter what their personal beliefs or values may be, are appreciative of life’s blessings and practice gratitude daily.
Spiritually aware people have hope and faith. They look at life challenges as possibilities and opportunities, instead of as limitations and setbacks. They strive to see the glass half full, as opposed to half empty.
Spiritual people also have compassion for others, and all life forms. They are usually concerned about global issues. They respect the natural environment and see the beauty in the world around them. The simple things in life become the extraordinary things bring them joy. Look at trees, mountains, ocean, birds, animals, flowers and plants! That is what I called my church. How can one be out in nature, surrounded by all its beauty, and not believe in something greater than yourself?
Spiritual people are always aiming to become better people. It’s about living your own truth, living with principles and integrity. They realize that money does not necessarily bring happiness and fulfillment, which is not to say that one cannot be wealthy and happy at the same time. I know some very wealthy people that are highly spiritual, happy and grateful, doing good things for the world we live in. Wealth often affords people the ability to contribute to making the world a better place.
Letting Go Of Those Old Branches
As winter arrives, it is always a time of reflection for me. Winter storms are so bittersweet. They are beautiful, but they also can be very destructive. In a winter storm last year, I have observed some of the strongest, oldest trees losing their branches. Those large branches were the first to snap. They looked so strong and have weathered so many storms, yet they could not withstand the wind.
As I analyzed the results of that winter storm, the realization came to me that the smaller, more supple branches had the ability to bend with the strong winds. The large, majestic branches, however, had become rigid over the years and broke easily in the powerful, icy wind.
The same principle could apply in our lives. How well we handle a challenging situation will depend on our ability to remain flexible and adapt. A very strong, experienced person may appear on the surface to be able to move mountains and handle most situations with ease. But if that same person is unwilling to listen, refuses to compromise with others and cannot remain open-minded, they will most likely be doing a lot of ‘snapping’ when facing adversity.
If we can ‘bend’ to at least agree to disagree with others, and keep a more flexible, adaptive attitude in difficult times, it makes life a lot easier to maintain harmony with the world. If tunnel vision is how we choose to see life, it is impossible to see that others may also be right sometimes, or have a better solution. When we become rigid, stiff, closed and inflexible, it becomes harder to see the bigger picture and to have a more peaceful approach to life.
When we are rigid and think our way is the only way, it is also hard to make and keep lasting relationships. In a group situation there are always people that see the opposite side any situation for a problem. Sometime these people may play devil’s advocate. They listen to each point of view to arrive at a compromise.
December 2019 Astrology Forecast
Overall, December 2019 will be a powerful month for manifesting dreams, speaking your truth and launching new projects.
Initially, the Sun will be in pioneering Sagittarius, which will give everyone extra energy to get things moving at a quicker pace. On December 22nd, the Sun then transits into Capricorn, where we become less free-spirited and more entrepreneurial in our day-to-day activities.
Mercury enters Sagittarius on December 9th, which will make our communications friendly, but also more straightforward. Mercury will also be out of retrograde at this time, so there will be less resistance in making progress with relationships and business matters. On December 29th, Mercury enters Capricorn, where leadership becomes a major focus.
The love planet, Venus, starts off in Capricorn this month, which will have us craving something more serious or physical in the romance department, depending on the circumstances. Capricorns are not always the most romantic companions, but do like to give special gifts to show that they care.
Venus will move into Aquarius on December 20th, which makes the holidays more enjoyable, because this sign likes to have a good time! If emotions get triggered, cool off and wait until Venus shifts over to Pisces in January, for deeper conversations about your feelings. Aquarius can become distant if they are already overwhelmed.
On December 12th, there will be a Full Moon in Gemini, which will be an optimal time to finish writing that book, launch a new website, or reach out to a special friend. It will also be great for integrating inner duality to help achieve oneness with your spiritual self.