alignment
Are You Living An Unexamined Life?
According to Socrates, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” This statement is very powerful, yet it has a very simple meaning. What you do not change, does not change you. When your actions remain the same, so do the results. If you cannot examine the things that are eating at you, the things that have gone wrong in your life, and even the things that have gone right, nothing changes.
We must look at our life and go behind the mask that we may be wearing, to cover up the fact that we are vulnerable inside. There are often so many aspects to our life that requires change in order to move forward to a better place.
For example, are you repeatedly settling for the same type of person as a partner and find it constantly failing? Are you going to a dead-end job day in and day out, that you hate so much that merely entering the workspace already makes you despise the day before it even starts? Do you look in the mirror and see things about yourself that makes you miserable?
Take off the mask of pretension and make an effort to change what isn’t working. Examine why you keep repeating the same patterns.
If you are ending up with the same type of person every time, ask yourself why? Are you trying to meet someone in the same way? Are you settling for someone that is not all that you would like, but feel it’s better than to have no one at all? Are you compromising on what you want? If they are not what you seek, cut them loose. They are not going to suddenly change.
What Is Blocking Your Progress?
Picture yourself driving down a nice country road. There is no traffic to speak of, the sun is shining beautifully in the cloudless sky, and all is right with the world. You have no particular timeline or agenda in mind, this is a rare moment of bliss which you totally intend to take advantage of.
But, as you come around the next bend in the road, there, out of the blue, appears to be an exceptionally large branch completely blocking the way. What to do now? Well, you have always thought of yourself as a somewhat smart and resourceful soul, so there is no doubt in your mind that you will arrive at a logical and workable conclusion.
After careful examination, you begin to realize this is a little more serious than what you had initially thought, so now alternate plans must be put in place. Out comes the trusted cell phone, to call the nearest towing company. Perhaps they will be able to haul the branch out of the way!
Oh no, you are in a cellular dead zone and there is no signal, so the calling option is out. What next? Well, with a little pushing and prodding, maybe you could clear the path yourself? After an exhausting attempt you quickly realize this is not going to work either. Time out is called for, so you may rally all your brilliant thoughts to reach a viable and successful conclusion.
Then you have an inspired idea. If all else fails, maybe you can navigate around the branch just enough to get free and clear, and continue on your merry way? You try and…well, lo and behold, that worked amazingly well!
Sheltering In Gentle Grace
The subject and substance of grace is near and dear to my heart. Its consistency is gentle and ethereal, but nonetheless a source of grounded strength. I appreciate it as a richly layered, soft, spiritually textured energy, flowing between Heaven and Earth – divine in its origin from God, yet accessible in unlimited ways within, and around us.
A few years ago, I wrote a book on grace, moving in divine alignment. The words channeled through me, as if being dictated by Grace herself, a feminine goddess personifying the compassionate energy emanating from God as the Supreme Source. Therein, the quality of grace on the hard paths of life revealed itself to me as follows.
When the dance stands still in the dark – outside my comfort zone, in the space of the unknown, in the history of pain, before the next step – I tend to feel neither peaceful, patient, nor poised.
I have grabbed for answers, change, relief, but found none independently within my clutch. So, I envision a fabric of grace, formed when the favor of God becomes interwoven with the sweetness of elegant movement and presence.
Unlike ordinary cloth, the fabric of grace dons a mystical twist. It is a lifeline of being, bearing inexhaustible strength to uplift and pull us forward through all experiences.
There is an artistry of the soul in reaching for this spiritual material of grace. It calls forth inner enlightenment and skill to clasp it in the heart, not in the hands.
The Spiritual Significance Of A Global Pandemic
Remember that defining moment recently, when the novel coronavirus finally made its way into your everyday reality? Your spiritual well-being and metaphysical beliefs were probably the last things on your mind. In fact, the spiritual meaning of this pandemic will not be a major consideration for most at this time. But in the dark, difficult days that still lie ahead, the Covid-19 pandemic will increasingly reveal its profound spiritual truths. And in its devastating aftermath, we will have no choice but to acknowledge and embrace its spiritual significance in our post-pandemic reality.
When Covid-19 was officially declared a global pandemic, and made its unwelcome way into international news headlines, many people reverted to the ‘first law of nature.’ They responded instinctively with their best personal strategies for self-preservation.
Some hysterically stockpiled a lifetime supply of hand sanitizer and toilet paper, while others stubbornly gathered en masse at street festivals, religious gatherings, and even at their nearest beach, despite medical experts and authorities advising against it. Many simply carried on with life ‘as normal’, until they could no longer ignore the writing on the wall.
Meanwhile, the least anchored among us, tried to alleviate their overwhelming anxiety and confusion by seeking certainty in fake news, superstition, and the outlandish fearmongering of conspiracy theorists. Some went into hardcore survival mode, compelled by their lack consciousness and a scarcity mentality, while other still continue to choose the path of least resistance: denial. And in-between these polar opposite responses, the best, and worst examples of human behavior continue to surface all over the world.
A Golden Opportunity For Inner Work
We are all feeling the same kind of mixed emotions at the moment. I have been spending some time trying to process the events of the last few weeks, and what is going on in the world these days. Below are some of my thoughts on it. Note, it is possibly different from what you might think and believe, but it is nevertheless my truth.
I have been feeling for the past few years that we are heading towards something momentous. I didn’t really know what it would be, or what it would look like, but I just had this foreboding or premonition that something major was going to happen. I have sensed that our planet needed a shift to correct things. To maybe put things into perspective, to put things back on track, or in alignment.
I consulted spirit for insight on recent events, and I have been shown that this is a time for us to reconnect with our faith, our divine purpose and our inner being. And we must really connect with our ‘inner lion’ for hope and courage!
The Covid-19 pandemic has given us the golden opportunity to have more time to think and really connect with our inner being, and the higher self. We now have a unique opportunity to discover who we really are and connect with our true spiritual nature.
The Healing Power Of Movement
In my earliest years of life, I was severely shy, fearful of anyone I didn’t know, and acutely anxious of being separated from my mother. Any time we were out, or in the presence of others, I clung to her tightly and hid in silence behind her.
My mom soon received many recommendations to enroll me in dance lessons, to help me come out of my shell. She did, and I emerged. That was my first experience of the healing power of movement.
It continued into my ‘terribly turbulent’ teens, during which ballet became my only safe haven and sanctuary. In the ballet studio I could pour out every feeling. From the barre to the stage, every move was an opportunity to express what I needed to release, and to find the solace I needed.
A decade later, I found myself bedridden with chronic fatigue. Yet, visions of ballet spontaneously continued to dance across the screen of my mind’s eye – almost every moment of every day. I could feel the movement in my body, even though my body was unable to move. I know now it was a premonition of a life-changing return to dance, that ultimately remedied my illness and opened the way to reveal my gift of intuitive healing dance.
The power of movement is a beautiful thing. It can literally shift, shape, and reform energy. Energy itself comes in many forms and functions. Emotion, if you think about it, is energy in motion: e-motion. Everything, including you and I, are an emanation of energy from the Absolute Truth and Personality of Godhead.
How To Overcome Negative Thought Patterns
There are times when one may be feeling very serene, and completely at peace with ourselves and the world. One may even be feeling highly satisfied with the spiritual growth and personal healing you have accomplished thus far. Then, quite unexpectedly, you lose your sense of alignment. You suddenly feel ‘disconnected’ from the source of our being.
This feeling is especially triggered when one feels overwhelmed by life’s responsibilities, or the constant demands of others. And once we slip into this negative state of mind, many deeply buried, unpleasant memories tend to emerge in our consciousness in the form of haunting ‘flashbacks.’
I recently heard a friend referring to this experience as cognitive distortion. We can so easily begin to catastrophize, and expect the ‘other shoe to drop,’ once our anxiety level becomes this amplified. The mind is powerful and under these circumstances we tend to indulge in a lot of ‘what if’ thinking. The mind races, imagining all the worst case scenarios as potential outcomes.
This kind of catastrophic thinking typically takes our mind into two directions. Firstly, it puts a truly negative spin on the current situation. And secondly, it causes us to anticipate all the many, many things that could possibly go wrong in the future.
Polarized thinking is another problem for some of us. This thought pattern is when we only see things in terms of right or wrong, and this can lead to setting unachievable standards for ourselves and others, as well as send our stress levels through the roof! Polarized thinking crops up when we find ourselves basing our hopes and expectations on, for example, getting that dream job, impressing other people, finding our soulmate, becoming famous, and so on.