Spirituality
Soul Friends
Soul friends are different from soulmates. Your soulmate is your romantic or life partner, the one you share your life with. Your soul friend is your best friend. Even when you haven’t talked with each other for a long time, you always seem to know what is going on with them.
We have several spiritual friendships in our lifetime. Those special friendships are part of our soul contract or life plan while we are here on Earth. Before we came here we made an agreement with certain members of our soul group to find and support each other while in this lifetime.
How do you know when someone is from your soul group? There is an instant connection right away. Your laughter, and humor, and way of thinking, just seems to fit. You immediately ‘get’ each other’s ‘vibe.’ We have more than one soul friend in every lifetime, which may even include siblings and co-workers.
Why is having soul friends important? Well, because soul friends help, support and guide us along our journey in this lifetime. You can usually talk about anything with them, without feeling judged or criticized, or feeling obligated sometimes.
As you are thinking of them, almost instantly the phone might ring and it’s them, saying that they were thinking of you and wanted to reach out. It makes our journey so much easier when we have them in our lives, because with soul friends you can be who you truly are. Continue reading
The Power Of Mindfulness
Many spiritual and metaphysical teachers focus much attention on spiritual practices like meditation and mindfulness. The goal of these practices is to allow our consciousness to shift away from the past and the future, to focus instead on the present moment.
It is important to understand that the past is over. There is nothing taking place in the past any longer. This is important to understand if someone has a habit of rehashing the past in their mind. It doesn’t matter if someone is focusing on positive past experiences or negative events. Too much attention on the past is never useful.
The future is another area where people expend a lot of mental attention. Fantasy and worry are the two most common focuses when obsessing over the future. However, there is no amount of fantasy or worry that can ever make someone’s life better.
When we expend too much of our energy on the past or future, we are sacrificing the precious present moment. For this reason many spiritual teachings and traditions encourage mindfulness and meditation. These practices allow us to recognize our daily thought patterns and help us gain an understanding of where our attention is focused.
The present is the only moment that is real and that truly matters. This is where everything is happening – in the now. This is also the only moment where you have any real power.
Aligning Yourself With Abundance
We tend to focus a lot of mental and emotional energy on abundance and prosperity. Which is a good thing. As humans we are meant to live an abundant life. However, I have talked to many clients that have been focusing their attention on abundance, but say that they only experience lack.
From a metaphysical and spiritual perspective there are several reasons why this may occur. The first is that people are often unclear about what they want. Second, it is common for individuals to invest their energies on limited mindsets about abundance, or a lack of trust. The third primary reason why people don’t achieve what they say they want, is that they focus on what is absent, rather than on what is present in their lives.
The first challenge, that many of us must overcome to experience true abundance, is to be clear about what we really want. Too often people seeking abundance simply think that a certain amount of money in their lives will fix their problems. However, abundance is often less about money, and more about a personal sense of security and stability.
True abundance is not the amount of money one has in the bank. Abundance is about having enough time and freedom to do what we want to do in our lives. True abundance is the freedom to achieve personal goals and enough energy to create happy and fulfilling relationships. And yes, money too. Money is certainly one factor to the equation. However, many things that people say that they want can be achieved without having access to a limitless amount of money.
Unconditional Love Is Heaven On Earth
When I was a little girl, I remember going to my grandparents’ home during the summers. I couldn’t wait for the summer to arrive, to get to spend time with them. It was always magical. The months leading up to those wonderful stays were always filled with anticipation and excitement.
Always having something to look forward to adds to the enjoyment and contentment of life. Whether it’s an upcoming event or something we are looking forward to, such trying an adventurous activity, or reading that new book you’re excited to dive into. Books have always been for me a bit of a mental vacation, because you can relax, while going places to imaginative places in your mind.
I believe the magic and enjoyment of getting to spend time with my grandparents came from it being filled with love and attention. Thinking back now, they were the only adults, when I was younger, who gave me their full attention and truly unconditional love. They were never too busy to sit and talk with me, or share stories from their childhood, which I found very fascinating.
Not all Grandparents are alike though. Some can be all about gossip, judgment, neglect, even abuse, and not the best role models. I was lucky that on my mother’s side of the family this was not the case. My maternal grandparents had all the traits and attributes one would imagine a truly loving grandparent to have.
I have memories of being in tears when having to leave and go back home. There I just spent my days alone in my room, as my parents were often too busy with church and other social groups they were involved in. I suspect all that time I was forced to spend on my own, helped me to expand and open my mind, to tap into those deeper areas of the psyche that are often left dormant.
The Sweet Nectar Of Romantic Relationships
The energy of the hummingbird brings immense wisdom to be shared with us. When he appears it is always such a treat, as I have learnt so much from this amazing bird, including about love and romantic relationships.
When the hummingbird comes into my life asking to be painted, my vision blurs. I can then only see my artwork clearly and the brush strokes needed to finish his painting. I have learned that sometimes our own vision needs to become blurred, so that what we are seeking can be shown to us.
I have also learned that the ‘narrowed vision’ of hummingbird is vital to the health and vitality of our relationships, especially those of a romantic nature. When we keep our focus firmly on the present moment and the feelings we share with our partner in this moment, rather than on the negative thoughts, concerns or expectations, we blur out the noise.
This allows for a breaking away from the old energy patterns and lack consciousness that too often govern the roles played out in our relationships. It allows for a simplicity to arise in the communion and communication with our partner.
The hummingbird gathers nectar from the flower through its power of focus and natural instincts. It trusts its own innate nature to choose the flowers that will nourish and feed it. Finding trust in our own feelings and intuition is important, so that our relationships are nourished and allowed to blossom from within.
How To Be A Clear Channel
It is said that we are spiritual beings having a physical or human journey. I often also hear people say that some people are ‘more spiritual’ than others. I cringe whenever I hear such things, because we all come from the same Source, which means that there is no differentiation between any of us.
In fact, in nearly every spiritual tradition the term ‘spiritual’ is derived from one of two words. It either comes from the word breath, or it comes from the term life source. This means that everyone that is alive and breathing is equally spiritual, no matter who they are.
It is true that there are some people who may be more effectively walking a ‘spiritual path.’ This is because such people embody spiritual principles to a greater degree, or are more in alignment with certain spiritual principles, such as love, joy, peace, and serenity. But we are all ‘channeling’ spirit at all times, because we are all spirit at our core.
So, what does it mean to ‘channel’ spirit? Many believe that there are distinct supernatural components to being spiritual, which may sometimes be the case. However, channeling spirit simply means to live in such a way that you actually embody the primary spiritual principles.
Channeling spirit is simply living a life that exudes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. These are principles that show up in nearly every spiritual tradition or belief system. In Christianity, for example, these principles are known the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.
The Life Lesson Of ‘Making Plans’
‘Making plans’ has been a life lesson for me. Whenever I make serious plans, they always tend to fall through. Something usually comes up, or it just doesn’t work out.
It has been at times almost comical. I even started telling people, whenever they invite me to attend an event, or go somewhere with them, or sign up for something important, that I plan on possibly doing this with them, but I am not going to say it is definite….because then it probably won’t work out.
In time I came to realize that the Universe was teaching me, over and over again, to not make any major plans. The lesson for me has been simply to never say yes to anything with absolute certainty. Why? Because nothing is ever guaranteed. Things change, things happen… and not only to us, but also to others. It is often a domino effect that can impact our plans in many ways. Today, tomorrow, nothing is ever guaranteed.
In the process I have also learned to curb my emotions. You may find this odd or strange, but it has been my truth for more than four decades. In my experience, whenever I get super excited about something, it either gets taken away from me, or something happens to changes it for the worse.