Spirituality
Being Laid Off Can Spark Spiritual Growth
Being laid off from a job can be a profoundly challenging and disorienting experience. The experience tends to stir up a myriad of feelings, worries, and questions about one’s purpose, value, security, and direction in life.
But while job loss can be very unsettling and stressful, it also offers unexpected opportunities for personal and spiritual growth.
At its core, the spiritual journey invites us to explore the depths of our being and to seek meaning beyond the material realm. A layoff can serve as a catalyst for this exploration, prompting us to reevaluate our priorities, values, and relationship to work.
In many spiritual traditions, adversity is seen as an opportunity for growth and transformation, a chance to deepen our connection to the divine and uncover hidden aspects of ourselves.
Being fired is an invitation to surrender to the flow of life. In our modern society, we often cling to our plans and expectations, believing that we are in control of our destiny. However, a layoff can shatter this illusion of control and force us to confront the uncertainty and impermanence inherent in existence.
In the face of this new uncertainty, we have the opportunity to surrender our ego and trust in a higher power or cosmic intelligence to guide us on our path. This surrender is not an act of resignation, but rather an act of faith, a willingness to let go and allow life to unfold as it will.
Don’t Panic, It May Just Be A Divine Intervention!
From the beginning of my spiritual career, my guides taught me that we are given three things in life: opportunity, choice, and free will. Simply put, when we choose from the options that are presented to us, we exercise our right to free will and largely determine our own future.
While this is quite an empowering thought for most of us, there are times in our lives when Spirit feels that we are very much on the wrong track and will actually change our circumstances for us. While this does not happen very often, I will use my own situation as an example of why they do sometimes interfere with our free will.
Back in 1984, when I was 24 years old, all I wanted to be was a stenotypist. I was so determined to get what was then considered a very prestigious job that I went to college, worked hard, passed my exams, was proactive, and finally got a job with the local government.
I could not believe my luck, as the salary was about £5,000 per year, which is about $6,300 – certainly not bad almost 32 years ago! I thought I had struck gold, but things got even better when I started dating the man who worked in the office next door. Life could not be better (or so I thought) as I had the man, the career, the money – everything! Unfortunately, disaster soon struck.
My boyfriend left me, the girls in the office made fun of me, my boss and his secretary bullied me, and finally I lost my job. Suddenly I found myself in the middle of a recession, with no relationship, no job, no money, no prospects, and I couldn’t even get a reference!
Why, oh why, did this happen to me? I didn’t deserve this! I had worked so hard. I am a good person. I always strive to be a decent friend and colleague. Yet, I was being treated so unfairly.
The Divine Timing Of A Soulmate Connection
A dear client I have been reading for many years called me the other day to finally confirm what I always knew was going to happen. As much as I was not shocked or even surprised, this event “blew her mind,” as she bluntly put it.
You see, for years she had sworn up and down that she would “never, ever, ever in a million years” hear from her soulmate again, but now she has!
From my perspective, it was always just a matter of time. For years I told her not to lose faith and to hold on to the mystical love they shared because one day he would come back to her. But she kept shrugging and rolling her eyes and muttering things like “in my dreams” and “when pigs fly.” She just couldn’t accept the fact that he would one day be coming back into her life.
I must confess that while I was not surprised by this long-anticipated outcome, I was a bit intrigued by it for the simple reason that I thought for sure that her constant negative thoughts and feelings about the situation would eventually create so much energetic resistance that it would prevent her from reconnecting with him at all! But not even her constant self-sabotage and negativity could stop the turning of the wheels of destiny and divine timing. If we are meant to connect with someone who is our soulmate, it’s bound to happen one way or another, whether we trust the process or not.
The Meditative Art Of Sumi-e Painting
As a spiritual advisor and artist, I’ve always been drawn to the ways in which art and spirituality intersect to offer pathways to deeper self-awareness and tranquility.
One such path that has had a profound impact on my life is Sumi-e painting, also known as suibokuga or ‘ink wash painting.’ It is a traditional Japanese painting technique that uses black ink, typically in varying concentrations, to create brushstroke-based works of art.
Sumi-e is characterized by its minimalism, simplicity, and emphasis on capturing the essence or spirit of the subject rather than its literal representation.
Paintings often feature subjects such as landscapes, flowers, birds and other natural elements. Artists use various brush techniques to create different textures, tones, and depths using only black ink on absorbent paper or silk.
The art form has deep roots in Zen Buddhism, which emphasizes spontaneity, simplicity, and harmony with nature. Practitioners often meditate before painting to cultivate a clear and focused mind, which they believe enhances their ability to express the essence of the subject.
Sumi-e painting has had a significant influence on various art forms, including calligraphy and other East Asian brush painting styles. It continues to be practiced and appreciated for its timeless elegance and ability to evoke profound emotions with seemingly simple brush strokes.