self-discipline
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.
My ‘Tough Love’ Parents Raised A Strong Woman
I can remember when I was in my 20s and just starting out in life. I strived to be an adult my parents would be proud to say they raised. For some reason, my parents approval was very important to me.
I aimed to follow in my parents footsteps by getting a ‘good job’ that would support the lifestyle I wanted for myself. I also got married, bought a house, and pretty much walked the same path my parents had done.
I was raised by parents who helped us financially when they could, but never to the extreme, and only when I proved to them that I was not being wasteful with funds. They were always willing to help whenever something came up that I could not afford on my own.
I can remember being a tad jealous of my high school friends, who I still had communication with, when their parents would hand them thousands of dollars simply because they wanted a new car, or wished to go on a trip. I would watch as those friends lives were so much less stressful than mine. They had the safety net of their parents financially, as well as in many other aspects of their everyday life.
As I grew older, and my parents’ ability to support their children decreased, and eventually became non-existent when they passed, I noticed a distinct difference in myself and my friends who had parents that supported them through much of their adult life. Those friends who seemed to have everything so easy, and didn’t have to struggle as I had to, did not seem to be able to weather the storms that life sometimes throws at us.
Time To Review Your Goals For The Year
We are reaching the midpoint of this year. As you look at our desires and intentions from the beginning of the year, life might have changed, and so have you, or not. Sometimes we start out with several new year’s resolutions (at least I know I do). Where are you now with those changes and intentions you planned at the beginning of the year… and are some adjustments possibly required?
When working with clients, who want to make changes, we look together at different areas of their life: career, relationships, self-care, finances, creativity, limiting beliefs, and addiction. We then find the one aspect that needs to be prioritized.
Focusing on too many things can become very distracting, and quite honestly overwhelming. I have found the most success comes from making a list of all the things we desire to change or improve, and then to choose one to start with, which we feel can make the most difference and be personally satisfying.
It’s not that the other areas are not worked on during the year. But by focusing on one area, it magically and positively touches the other areas of our lives. One thing can change everything else. And there is no good in beating ourselves up over where we are, if it’s not where we want to be. The door to freedom is through forgiveness and loving ourselves.
An Accelerated Path
Many people come to me after years, sometimes decades, of trying everything else: Astrology, Numerology, Genetics, Past Life Regression, therapy, and so on. Years of being understood, validated, affirmed, and being told narratives regarding why they are the way they are, did not bring them all the answers.
There is worth in all of the above practices, both in Psychology and Spirituality, or Metaphysics. However, growth requires challenge, and we are now in a ‘feel good’ culture, where if anyone gets upset, there is the potential of backlash, or even a lawsuit.
In the 1960s there was an amazing education role play called Brown Eyes, developed by an elementary school teacher. You can look up the video online, as well as the reunion footage years later with the kids, who are now adults. The game created a scenario in which children, and later also adults, were able to experience the profound effects of discrimination, prejudice and racism.
However, teachers were eventually sued for doing this role play in class, because of the emotional upset caused by the experience. Of course, the role play was not upsetting to the minority children who experienced the discrimination and prejudice all the time in their daily lives.
The Challenge To Remain In The Light
What is the one area of your life that you would prefer to improve or change entirely? Mine without question would be to remain in the Light.
We live in a digital age, where we have instant access to information of all varieties… some truthful, others not so accurate. Once in a while this leads to something of value, but for the most part it is just a bombardment of noise, which is mostly designed to make us purchase and consume more products and services than we really need.
Scare tactics, for example, encourage us to buy more medication and nutritional supplements than any reputable doctor would recommend. Fearmongering convinces us to install excessive additional security for our homes. And airbrushed models tempt us into buying an endless assortment of goods that seldom add much value to our daily lives.
Meanwhile many of us have the tendency to complain about the government, the exorbitant rates charged for our monthly utility services, and the escalating cost of food and basic necessities.
The personal challenge for me is to allow myself the guilty pleasure of discussing any of these topics without vibrating into a negative state of mind. I can physically feel, in my body, the moment my energy starts to get into that negative energy frequency.
Reboot Your Goals With ‘Reset Mondays’
We all have goals. We plan to go big in our business, relationships, health, and many other areas of our life. Then we stumble as life happens.
Maybe you cutting out sugar this year, and then you had those chocolate chip cookies. Or did you commit to a workout schedule, only to skip a few sessions and finally give up altogether? Maybe that first date wasn’t quite what you expected, or you chose to stick with that familiar person who still doesn’t want to commit. You know what I’m talking about.
Failure and disappointment can cause us to lose our peace of mind and stay out of the game longer than we should. It then becomes more difficult to start again.
Maybe we need to be kinder to ourselves when it comes to our life goals, and appreciate the effort and progress we have already made. And when we do fall off-track, we need to consider what is underneath this action. Taking time to examine the ‘why’ can help us see the underlying cause. Sometimes it’s boredom, or old habits, fear of failure, or just that ‘little goblin’ in our head. It can also be fear of success and being seen – a new level, new devil.
Becoming Your Best Self
Know that Spirit is always beckoning you to become your best self. Stay open for the positive to emerge and, with open arms, joyously welcome the blessings of health and wellness, inner peace and wisdom, blissful love, streams of prosperity, and all that your heart desires.
Make a huge effort to quiet the chatter in your world and listen to your inner voice. This may mean muting your television, or not checking in with social media as often. Your quiet time might also manifest through long walks in nature, or soaking in a tub of warm water scented with your favorite essential oils and surrounded by candlelight.
However you choose to silence the outside world and tune in to the sacred realm, trust that your experience will be golden as Spirit will be guiding you to become your best self ever.
Know that you have the gift and ability to visualize and actualize the life you are seeking. See your life as you would love it to be, and ask Spirit to help you define your very best self. Often we set the bar far too low for our best selves. In this manner we cheat ourselves and miss out on fulfilling the divine purpose of our lives.