self-discipline
Thriving In The Winter Of Our Discontent
Enduring a harsh winter with extreme weather, in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, is not an easy feat. It reminds me of the ‘winter of our discontent’ that Shakespeare refers to in the first line of his play Richard III. This winter-pandemic combo is certainly a ‘double whammy’ that could potentially break any camel’s back! But how we choose to deal with these times will determine how it will serve to improve our lives in the long run.
Winter is actually a great time to think about spiritual and personal self-care, especially in places where there are extreme weather conditions. Where I live, in the state of Maine, the winters weather conditions can be severe, making it a time to just surrender, to give myself permission to rest my body, mind and spirit.
It is a time to go within, to meditate, to read, write, paint, to do things that feed the soul. It is good time to connect deeply with our inner being, the subconscious mind, the higher self. It is a time to retreat, allowing the mind to regroup, and to replenish your body, mind, and spirit. When we take the time to get acquainted with ourselves again, we find truth, wisdom, mental and even physical healing.
If you are going through a snowed-up winter right now where you live, use this time to review your bucket list. Reflect on all that is good about your life. Think about things that are not working for you anymore and the best course of action to move forward. Give yourself time to process it all.
The past year has also been a time of getting to know who we really are and what matters to us most. The global pandemic had some major shocks and surprises in store for those of us who had lost touch with ourselves and the people around us. I have been helping many clients working through these challenges.
For many the pandemic has notably been a time of intense solitude. A time of learning to be comfortable in your own company. In the beginning, the hope was that life would go back to normal in just a few months. But as time has gone on, we have had adjust to the so-called ‘new normal.’
Dreamwork With Your Angels
Dreaming is not only the doorway to the unconscious, but also an entrance to other realms. Our dreams connect us with our subconscious mind and the spirit realms, often in the form of strange and mysterious symbolisms.
We should be more grateful for our dreams, because even the difficult ones, that stir up our traumas and worries, help us to deal with any issues we have been resisting.
Dreams are also a portal into the influence of angelic forces. Connecting with the Angels in this way is easy and natural; it happens even when we are not aware of it.
The dream state is an entry point that offers unique advantages for our heavenly companions, for when we sleep, the mind is wide open. The resistances and blockages of our busy minds are suspended for us to access what normally cannot be seen. The fluidity of dreams is closer to the higher dimensions, rather than to the structured, material state in which we exist in our waking hours.
Our Angels often appear to us in dreams, but we seldom remember this, or, if we do, we do not recognize them. They are usually that friendly presence that often accompanies us through a dream. Or they may feature in the dream, as wise, powerful, and influential figures, but not necessarily with wings or other stereotypical symbols of their identity, such as ‘harps and halos.’
Angels are messengers of the Divine, and they come in various manifestations. For example, they sometimes appear in animal form, or make their presence known as an intense, bright light. They also have diverse things to communicate and infinite ways for doing so. But they all have one common purpose, and that is to be of service to humanity.
Most of us have all been brought up to believe that there is a separation between humans and Angels, but in truth we share our world with them! In our dreams, we can overcome the mental barriers that separate us from their higher energies.
An Angel Message Of Unconditional Love
There are angels and spirit guides that work with us daily. They change at times, depending on what we need. They are always within reach and can hear our requests, our tears, and our laughter. They feel our sadness and joy.
I have a few angels and guides that are very dominant in my life, and at times they have a lot to say! But their messages always come from a place of truth and love.
I asked my angel earlier what the message was for today, and this is the message I received:
“This is a time to see the light of highest good in everyone. Even when others are negative, mean or hurtful, look below their outer facade, and see their soul.
See beyond their abrasive personality or behavior and feel instead compassion for them – even the most challenging souls that you cross in your path. There have been many in your life, and there will be many more to come.
This is a difficult lesson to learn. It will bring confusion at times, but you will in time find a sense of calm knowing that you did all you could do to be the best person you can be to others.
Rage and resentment serve no purpose. Anger, hurt, vengeance, spite, or wishing bad karma on others, serve no purpose.
Do not judge others because they are different from you. Accept all people as they are and send them loving energy that they will find their highest good in the challenges and lessons of their life.
Once you fully understand that you are here to love, and only love, the negativity will no longer affect you as it has in the past. When you can see each soul within the outer physical person, you will see the good that has simply been buried by those who do not have faith in themselves.
Multi-Tasking Does Not Cultivate A Quality Life
I’m sure there has been a time in your life when you may have been too active on a hot summer, day without adequately hydrating, or juggling far too many tasks at once without taking a break. While you may have crossed the finish line, or pleased your boss by checking off all the tasks you completed, your sense of well-being was probably rock bottom, and your nerves frazzled. You possibly also questioned whether or not the best version of yourself showed up for life the next day.
Although many of us have found ways to multi-task our hectic lives, research is increasingly showing that effective multi-tasking is in fact a myth. Working on multiple projects at once doesn’t necessarily make us high achievers, or a successful super humans. Multitasking for most individuals merely replaces quality with quantity, and often leaves us feeling overwhelmed and disconnected from our deeper purpose.
As a spiritualist, I make it a practice not to judge how others achieve their everyday objectives and goals. But I do counsel many people who seem to have traded quantity for quality in their lives, and are missing out on the gift of savoring the sweet taste of personal achievement that is purposely focused and uninterrupted.
While old habits are tough to break, each of us has the innate capacity to build new processes within our mind. Psychological tools, such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) for example, can be used to re-program the mind to think differently.
Metaphysics and New Thought spirituality also teaches that through positive thinking we can manifest healthier outcomes in all areas of our lives. Many indigenous peoples also have a long tradition of spiritual practices, such as vision quests, dream interpretation, divination, and rituals and ceremonies, to help seekers find their best path.
Harmonizing The Energy Flow Of Money
When I was younger, I never thought of money as being spiritual or metaphysical in any way. I never considered the possibility that our financial prosperity, or lack thereof, may be somehow connected to our thoughts, feelings and beliefs about it. Even after studying business, and working as an accountant for many years, I never saw the correlation. It wasn’t until I began to explore the spiritual aspect of my life, that I became aware of this link.
I became the sole income provider in my home, after my divorce. At this time, I began to look more deeply into my beliefs and associations with money. If you personally relate to my experience during those difficult days, you will also understand what it feels like to be totally overwhelmed when you are experiencing many new obstacles in your life to financial security and cash flow.
Fortunately, there has always been a logical and practical part of myself that kicks in when I’m faced with big challenges and difficult choices, especially around financial decisions. This instinctive part of me is a natural default from my years as an accountant and mortgage finance consultant.
When my inner accountant comes out, I look at the logical side of things and rationally reason my decisions. Then, on other occasions, the spiritually aware, intuitive part of me knows that if I am overly stressed and worried about money, I block my own energy flow from the Source of all things abundant. I have often also seen that my creative process and artwork doesn’t flow freely when I become too worried about finances – I just paint ‘mud.’
So, how do we find balance between our logical, human need for material security, and the intuitive, spiritual aspect of our soul that finds it easy to trust the unknown? How do we find that balance?
Spiritual Living Still Requires Sustainable Action
As a spiritual counselor to many with the gift of intuition, my goal is to connect with the unseen to inspire others to live in the world that I know is still possible, where avoidable suffering and tragedy are events of the past, and where each of us can live our best lives ever.
A dear friend recently contacted me from beautiful California, where multiple wildfires, fueled by the annual Santa Ana winds, have been raging throughout the state. I asked how she was faring during the season of high winds and smoke, and her reply was that life was normal as usual and that nothing out of the ordinary was occurring.
Having lived through wildfires, earthquakes, storms, and other extreme events of nature, I was taken aback that my friend seemed unshaken by the present threats. But then I remembered the refrain that my dear mother often repeated, “This too shall pass.” This was often coupled with another reminder that prayer, or positive thoughts, also require a corresponding, uplifting action.
Before my conversation with my friend ended, I carefully coached her to always be ready to protect herself and her family in the face of developments that were beyond her realm of control – especially from that deep spiritual center she draws her life’s energy and direction.
Spiritually speaking, we all have the right to be safe in the presence natural events, or unexpected crisis that may arise in our worlds. But living a life guided by Spirit also requires that we do our part to protect ourselves. This protection might take the form of creating a financial nest egg to keep afloat in the event there is a major change with employment, for example. Our personal responsibility might also manifest as shoring up one’s pantry with food and water in event a grocery supply is hampered.
How To Manifest What You Really Want
I have, for at least 40 years now, been a deliberate creator, and passionate practitioner of the Law of Attraction. Nevertheless, when I first started working with this fantastic cosmic law, I noticed that I often manifested almost the exact opposite of what I was hoping for!
How could this be, I asked myself? After all, I had read all the books, did the meditations and vision boards, was thinking positively, and even bought the incense. Why wasn’t I getting what I wanted?
The answer came to me in time. It was because I was inadvertently counter-manifesting. This can happen so easily when we attempt to manifest – particularly in one’s early days of learning the art of cosmic ordering.
Okay, so how does one manage to counter-manifest and, more importantly, how do you avoid it?
Align Your Energy
First and foremost, if our energy vibration does not match what we are wanting to attract, we simply cannot draw it towards us. Like attracts like, remember? No amount of visualization or list-making is going to make any difference if we are not in a positive, open state of mind and elevated mood. We have to be ready to welcome whatever it is we have set an intention for.
Therefore, the first golden rule of successful manifestation is to raise your energy vibration with some healthy self-work and personal investment. By doing so, you will begin to attract more good things into your life, rather than drawing those things that you do not want.