conscious living
Finding Silver Linings On The Dark Days
The sky was dark this morning. Overcast, miserable, wet and windy. Not the best way to start any day.
To make matters worse, after several very busy days with readings, I had one of those rare “goose egg” days. Not a single client called me all day!
Halfway through my shift, I realized that my mind was starting to brew up all kinds of negative thoughts. Idle hands are indeed the devil’s workshop. Fortunately, I was able to nip it in the bud by the end of my shift. The last thing I needed in this miserable weather was to plunge myself into a pity party.
Instead, I gently coaxed myself back into a state of calm, centered inner peace and gratitude. After all, I have a lot to be thankful for in my life!
I also had to remind myself that I no longer have all my eggs in one basket. I have learned the hard way over the past few years to diversify my income, and I also have a nest egg in the bank for a rainy day.
Those of us who have been on a long and challenging journey to a better life realize that having a totally negative day is sometimes a necessary part of the process of self-improvement and greater fulfillment. If things were always easy and perfect, we would have no motivation to strive for anything better.
Spiritual Self-Care Empowers The Empath
Because empaths spend a great deal of time experiencing the emotions and feelings of others in a very visceral way, spiritual self-care is especially important for us.
Work, family, friends, and intimate relationships, not to mention current world events, can take a toll on anyone, but they can be especially overwhelming for the empath. That’s why it’s important for empaths to be clear about which feelings and emotions are their own and which are coming from external sources.
Empaths are often compared to sponges, as they tend to ‘absorb’ all the energy and emotions around them. Sooner or later, the empath’s energy field becomes overwhelmed with energy imprints, residue, and attachments, and cannot absorb any more.
Instead of adopting a spiritual self-care routine to maintain their health and well-being, some empaths tend to engage in self-destructive behavior or self-medicate with food, alcohol, caffeine, or even drugs in an attempt to find relief. In the worst cases, this can result in a complete breakdown or worse.
It’s obviously wiser and much healthier for empaths to find a more constructive way to recharge their energy and center and ground themselves. Also, bad lifestyle habits will do nothing to shield your aura from outside energies.
Random Acts Of Kindness
I was at the gym the other day, working out while feeling really sore and demotivated. It was about to rain and I was just feeling so uncomfortable and miserable.
As I reluctantly lay back in this machine to kick my legs out, I saw a woman limping over to another machine across from me. She was clearly struggling, but you could tell that she was determined, even though she was having a hard time. I thought to myself that I should not be so negative about my own situation because it was just a little muscle stiffness. That brave lady was obviously dealing with so much more.
I experience this kind of scenario all the time in life. Whenever I feel deprived, unlucky, or self-pitying, my guides remind me to count my blessings and check my privilege. Instead, I need to remember those who are truly in need and how much the less fortunate have to go without.
Did you know that an estimated 828 million people in the world go hungry every day? This means about one in ten people on the planet does not have enough food to meet their basic needs. You may be thinking, what can I do about it? Well, I can only speak for myself. I recently decided to donate a pound of canned goods or a bag of groceries to those in need for every pound of weight I lose. It keeps me in check and reminds me to be thankful that I have food on my table every day!
Learning To Trust Your Intuitions
As we navigate life’s challenges, we too often question our inner guidance. Even after decades of psychic work, I sometimes also find myself questioning my own choices and decisions. One of the ways we can move beyond the deceptions of the ego mind is to learn the signs of spirit and how spirit communicates with us.
Everyone has an inner psychic ‘dictionary.’ This inner glossary of personal spiritual symbols repeats signs and patterns to convey a message to you. Although you may not think of yourself as highly intuitive or as a psychic visionary, you may be surprised at how psychic you really are when you allow your higher self to guide you.
Most people who attend my intuitive development classes soon learn that they themselves already own the intuition they are seeking. What I mean by this is that what we try so hard to find in the outside world in order to become more intuitive is actually already present within us.
We are spirit and are merely occupying the physical vehicle that is our body. I am sure you have noticed that sometimes your body knows the truth about situations before it registers in your mind? This is a psychic ability.
The Lucky Penny
My son is an old soul. He is intuitive and deeply spiritual. He communicates with his guides on a daily basis. He tells me he has gut feelings that often come true. He has had prophetic dreams. He ‘reads my mind’ all the time!
I love sharing magical things with him. For example, I taught him the traditional rhyme, “Find a penny, pick it up; all day long you’ll have good luck,” and he has been eagerly looking for pennies ever since. This makes me happy, as it teaches him to be aware of the world around him and to find the magic in everyday life.
By the way, I recently learned that the penny rhyme was originally “See a pin, pick it up, all day the day you’ll have good luck.” Apparently, this was a reference to an old pagan ritual in which a pin could be used as a good luck charm. The belief was that a dropped pin may have been used in such a magic spell and would therefore bring good fortune to the person who found it.
A while ago, I also told my son about an incident when, at the age of 11, my guides told me that they were sending me a gift. The next day, in a cow field, I found a sterling silver children’s ring with a Native American design engraved on it. He has been asking me ever since when he will also get a gift from his guides. He has found some coins on the ground, but they are always upside down (not a good sign).
How To Be More Present In Your Life
We often hear the advice that ‘being present’ is an important spiritual practice to master on our journey through life. Being present with ourselves and in the moment. I like to think of it as being with yourself wherever you go and whatever you do. This is certainly true, but what exactly does it mean? And with all the busyness of life and keeping up with our daily responsibilities, how do you become more present in your life?
Firstly, cultivating ‘presence’ requires time management and effective planning. It is important to organise the responsibilities of our lives in a manageable way. Otherwise, we find ourselves in a constant state of worry and stress, having to manage daily demands ‘on the fly’. And this is a sure way to lose our presence.
Planning ahead may seem like the opposite of being ‘in the moment’, but it is actually essential. When we are busy making plans for the coming week, thinking about what we need to prepare for and making decisions about how to organise our time and spend our energy, we don’t think much about the ‘present moment.’ But this is something we need to do in order to then be more present in our daily lives. It is key to cultivating presence.
Staying Connected To Spirit
If you are like me, I sometimes find it a struggle to disconnect from the ego in order to commune with spirit, Being spiritually aware and connected is a state of higher consciousness I prefer to spend as much time in as humanly possible.
Wouldn’t it be absolutely wonderful if we were always fully connected to spirit? Life is so much better and easier when my heart and mind are in the wonderful world of spirit.
Of course, it is not entirely practical or wise to always be in a higher state of consciousness, but one can certainly strive to spend more time living spiritually connected.
What I have learned to be extremely important is the practice of gratitude. Every day I try to consciously revel in all that is good and blessed in my life, instead of bringing myself down by focusing on what is wrong or lacking. We always have much more to be thankful for than we care to admit.
Another commitment I have made is to constantly remind myself that I am part of something greater than myself and connected to everyone and everything in the universe. This is not only a privilege, but also a responsibility. Regardless of how I feel on any given day, I am a spiritual being in human form who has the wonderful ability to choose the better side of myself and not let the ego take over.
I also know from experience that in order to stay spiritually connected, it is crucial for me to set aside some time each day for spiritual reflection, even if it is just a few minutes of meditation, to contemplate my purpose in this world, or ways I can be more compassionate, forgiving, or grateful.