charity
Recycle Your Blessings This Winter Season
As we approach winter in the northern hemisphere, let us be inspired by the seasonal change. Look around and observe nature as it prepares itself for a period of dormancy that leads to renewal and rebirth in the spring.
Change is the catalyst for growth in our lives. Some choose to think of winter as an unpleasant, ‘lifeless’ time, but in truth it is a golden opportunity to connect with the deeper realms of our mind and soul.
Embrace the profound stillness that this season offers and use the longer nights as opportunity for conscious self-reflection. Sit with this stillness and claim your majestic place on the sacred throne that was created solely for you.
Take back your personal power from the turbulence of the outer world and allow the chatter to grow quiet. Trust that in the midst of your most pressing thoughts and that which nags your soul, there is the Divine right path to oneness, healing, balance, peace, reconciliation, spiritual recognition, and soul empowerment.
Along with the obvious holiday cheer, this is one of the many gifts of the winter season; connecting to the eternal flame of the universe that shines on each of us.
As I ponder the personal changes I wish to embark on, I am reminded that nothing new can happen without letting go of the old. Many years ago, a dear friend implemented an annual winter ritual of clearing her closet of personal items she no longer desired. This is always performed just before the New Year.
I recall asking whether she was maybe acting too hastily in letting go of some of her prized possessions, as some of the discarded items were relatively new. She responded that she was creating space for new gifts to enter her life, while passing the old on to others who might be blessed by receiving it. My friend essentially spoke of recycling her blessings, a concept that was new to me at the time. And in doing so, she created a special karma for herself that opened the path for new delights to enter her life.
Crystal Energy Work And Prosperity
Crystals used in spiritual practice can help us manifest many good things in our life. If you’re specifically looking to increase your financial security, wealth and prosperity, or maybe find that perfect job or start that successful business (or even win that lottery ticket), try adding some new prosperity crystals into your daily spiritual practice.
There are many ways you can bring these crystals into your life for financial success. Keeping a few of your favorites in a purse or wallet, or on your desk at work, is the best way to have them close at hand. Traditionally, the southwest corner of a space is associated with prosperity and wealth, so try a bowl filled with your favorite crystals and place it there. Some practitioners prefer to place a collection of these crystals in a prosperity grid. Maybe a piece of jewelry made with some of these crystals?
It’s also important to consider all kinds of wealth and prosperity (good luck, business sense, spirituality, knowledge) and not just material goods when using your crystals. Each of the crystals and stones below has unique abundance properties, so choose the ones most unique and meaningful to your situation.
The main thing to remember in your crystal energy work is your intention. Prosperity is something all of us aspire to, and it’s certainly great to have lots of extra spending money, but we also must remember different kinds of ‘wealth’ exist, especially the wealth of the heart. We must also seek to bless others, so always remember those in need and less fortunate. Wealth and prosperity without love and sharing is meaningless.
Are Your Erasing Your Blessings?
Our good deeds and random acts of kindness are never in vain, even when they are not acknowledged or appreciated. Our good deeds are written up on a ‘good deed chalkboard’ in the spirit realm. The unselfish gifts of our time, money, and resources as well as our labors of love bring us many blessings in this lifetime and the next. When we are kind and generous to others, we are also showered with good fortune in return. We know this from the ‘golden rule’ of ‘do unto others’ found in many religions and spiritual traditions.
Buy I have read for many clients over the years who are kindhearted and loving people, but complain about their life being very difficult and deprived. They never have enough money, or they cannot find love, or health and well-being seem to evade them. “I am always helping others, but I get nothing in return,” they might say.
Why is this the case? Why are these generous, caring people not being blessed more often for their good deeds? Well, my guides have made the spiritual cause of this very clear to me. It is my understanding that we do not only add items of charity and compassion to the list of entries on our ‘chalkboard,’ but we also delete or erase them!
You see, when we do a good deed, it gets added to our list of potential ‘return blessings.’ But, if we go around bragging about it, boasting, showing off, telling people how generous or kind we have been, those good deeds become nullified, neutralized, erased. It loses its metaphysical power and spiritual meaning. It can no longer bless us in return.
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel
As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer in the Northern Hemisphere, there is a feeling of lightness that permeates everything. The saying “April showers bring May flowers,” is especially true this year, with wet weather helping the grass to turn green and the perennials to bloom.
Around the world, hope currently springs eternal, as more vaccines are being administered and COVID-19 statistics are starting to improve. We are all ready to get back to a semblance of normalcy, after more than a year of our lives being turned upside down and families separated.
Some of us are still in lockdown or subject to various restrictions. Some days are better than others. We are not entirely out of the woods yet, but at least it seems we are getting there, slowly but surely.
This past year of social restriction and isolation has however been an opportunity to reflect and make some needed changes to our lives. Although most people did not anticipate such an upheaval for so long, the additional time in isolation has allowed many of us to re-evaluate our life choices and really focus on what we want to accomplish in future.
Some of us have concentrated on charity. Some have turned to activism. Some have focused on self-care and self-healing. Regardless of our choice of focus, many of us have become more determined to make a difference in the world. This truly is one of the many blessings that has come from all the chaos.
It is important, however, that when we set these new intentions for our future, not to overreach with impossible goals or temporary plans. If feasible, choose a course of action that will be sustainable long after the immediate pressure of the pandemic has dissipated.
The Moral Of The Story
Since childhood, I have always loved fables and allegories, as well as the parables in The Bible. Indeed, one of my favorites is The Widow’s Two Mites in Luke 21. As a little girl, I used to listen intently to the story of the poor widow who gave more generously to charity than anyone else in the temple, because she gave all that she had. The life lessons and spiritual wisdom in these stories fascinated me.
Recently, I discovered an amusing tale that deals with both the ego and the need to be pragmatic. Three monks sat on a bankside, each in deep meditation. One of the monks, however, became cold, and this interrupted his ability to meditate. He told the other two that he was heading back to their cabin to find his blanket. Off he went, crossing the stream both ways with no problem. Soon he was back, in next to no time, and as dry as he was when he had left.
A short while later, another monk remembered that he had not left his wet clothes out to dry, so he too needed to head back to the cabin to tend to his laundry. Off he also went. The third monk saw, in amazement, how he easily walked across the water back to the cabin, and when he returned, just like the other monk, he was as dry as he had set off.
Seeing his two fellow monks cross the creek without getting wet infuriated the third monk. “So, you think you are both better than me!” he yelled at them. “Well, I will show you that if you can walk on water, then so can I!”
He ran up to the stream, put his foot on the surface of the water and instantly fell in, waist-deep! As a result, the third monk became even angrier and yet more determined to walk on the water. But time and time again he attempted to cross the creek without getting wet, but to no avail.
Distraught by his many failed attempts, one of the other two monks turned around to his friend and said, “Don’t you think it is time we tell him where those stepping stones are?”
This story did not only make me smile, but it also made me reflect upon my life. Indeed, there have been times when I allowed my ego, needlessly, to stand in the way of my better judgment. Like that third monk, I have also allowed myself to become envious and upset by comparing my own achievements to that of others.
How To Practice The Art Of Gratitude
My life has not been without its challenges. Nevertheless, I love my job, have a beautiful son, an adorable husband and supportive friends and family. Therefore, irrespective of current world events, I genuinely have a lot to be grateful for!
Gratitude is beneficial for all of us, including physically, emotionally and spiritually. For one, appreciating the good things in our lives helps us to be more tolerant and forgiving, with a higher sense of life satisfaction. Grateful people also tend to have more hope and inner peace and feel less anxious and alone.
God, Spirit, the Universe loves gratitude! Those who are sincerely grateful are blessed with even more to be grateful for. Like attracts like.
How does one ensure that you practice the art of gratitude ever day? The following guidelines should help:
Seek Out The Positive
In my own personal research into positive psychology, I became aware of something referred to as negativity bias. In case you have not heard of this, it means that our negative thoughts tend to be more dominant than the positive ones.
An excellent way of counteracting this negative way of thinking is to seek out at least three things in your life every day that you are well and truly grateful for. Try to make this a daily habit. By doing so, it should have you smiling in next to no time!
I remember when I was about 26 years old and in a particularly challenging place in my life. I was advised by a psychic, whom I reached out to with my troubles, to watch the film or read the book, The Color Purple by Alice Walker. It is some of the best advice I have every received. Once I had read the last chapter, I felt so grateful for whatever I had in my life.
We Can Co-Create A More Caring World
Each part of our body has many functions, many parts. Some we can see and some, of course, we cannot. Each has a very important function and serves a role that helps our body to work and operate well.
For our body to continue to run well, we have to take care of all the parts. We must ensure, for example, that we don’t drink too much alcohol, or eat too many processed foods, because if we do it could ruin our health. But healthy living goes beyond our physical lifestyle. If we think negative thoughts, or are emotionally bitter or cynical, then we also promote disease in the human body.
It also goes beyond our own life and body. Our planet is also a living, breathing body and all the smaller parts of our wonderful world must also run smoothly, in order for nations and countries to survive and grow, and for all to live in peace and harmony.
If we all do our job, and we are all on the same team with the same values, such as harmony, love and peace, we could have a gloriously peaceful, harmonious world. We are aware of things like corruption, greed and dysfunctional politics. These evil practices go on and make for ripples of constant negativity. Sometimes we see it in horrible ways, where lives are ruined and destroyed.
We all have different talents and gifts. If we all listened to the messages from our higher consciousness, and acted on them, we could co-create a meaningful change in the world. If we all did our part, and maybe weren’t so complacent, and really listened and heeded our true calling, we may be able to work together – just like our body uses all of its parts to function. We are all one in spirit and we are all connected. We must all contribute.