courage
A Silver Lining In Times Of Uncertainty
We grow in our spiritual awareness and insight in different ways. Some of us read spiritual material by great authors, for example, and learn from their wise teachings, while others meditate and go deep within for guidance, and so on. However, in my experience the most powerful catalyst for spiritual growth is a time of trauma or crisis.
With the Covid-19 pandemic currently raging around the world, many people have lost loved ones, income, savings, businesses and homes. These losses can be devastating, especially when children are involved. Many people are in grief, many are lonely and isolated. Normal life has been greatly curtailed for many, with no clear end in sight.
It has also been an extremely stressful, challenging time for our essential frontline workers and healthcare professionals. The novel coronavirus has affected everyone to some extent, and it is during such trying times that many of us turn to Spirit, or the God of our understanding, and ask: why?
In these times our faith in a higher power, in ourselves, and in our world at large, becomes even more pivotal to our mental health and personal well-being. Hope and faith give us the strength and courage to carry on another day, regardless of not being able to see the end result at the moment. When we dig deep, we can often find untapped spiritual and psychological reserves, that we were unaware we actually had.
Although living through a global pandemic is an experience our generation has not encountered before, many of us are rising to the occasion by helping others in person, online or by donation.
People are also transforming from within. Many are becoming stronger, more resilient and positive, knowing that they will be able to surmount this challenge, and even support others throughout the ordeal too.
Adaptability Is The Key To Manifesting Your Best Life
A life lesson most often learned the hard way, is how important adaptability is to our prosperity, happiness and well-being. Adaptability is a skill that must be learned by all of us. For once you are open to this path, your world will open up in ways you never could have previously imagined!
We are all born with the capability to be adaptable. Without this, we would not be able to function effectively in this physical world. In primitive times we had to adapt to the changing seasons, extreme climates, the scarcity of food, health challenges and other challenges of human survival and evolution.
What I find most intriguing about adaptability, is that we can consciously decide to be open to adapting at any time. We simply need to open up to the Universe and all the opportunities it has to offer. It’s as simple as looking out for opportunities around us to try new things, meet new people, explore new ideas and experiences.
It can be painful at first, as it requires stepping out of your comfort zone, but it gets easier the more you do it. Look at it this way: when you choose to start working out, your muscles will change over time, because they are dealing with new, unexpected demands and are becoming better at what you are requiring it to do. Eventually it becomes second nature and you become stronger. The same thing happens when you open your mind to new thought processes, new ideas, new ways of thinking.
Being adaptable means that you have the courage and enthusiasm to go beyond your comfort zone, and experiment with what the Universe is trying to direct you through. It can be as simple as deciding to finally stop and grab food at an Indian restaurant you pass daily. You may have never tried Indian food before, but it kept catching your eye. When you are adaptable, and open to the signs of spirit coming in, you will embrace such an opportunity to try something new. Continue reading
The Resilient Spirit Knows No Bounds
Our world has lately been feeling like a carnival ride gone awry. Despite all the madness, one thing bears remembering: the innate resilience of our spirit.
We are still here, and we are still standing. And we are willing, able, and capable to forge ahead. For many the move forward will be in a completely different direction than before, while for some the path has merely been adjusted to better suit us.
To be resilient is to be able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. Resilience is the ability to bounce back into shape, after being bent, stretched or compressed. This is the essence of what our spirit is designed to do.
Our spirit or soul is the eternal part of us that connects us to the Divine, Source, God, the Universe. It is the Spirit we call upon to show us the way, carry us through, or facilitate the manifesting our dreams, goals and aspirations. It is that unbreakable, unshakeable part of us that fuels us to continue to move forward regardless of circumstance.
Spirit is also the place where our hearts and minds find peace, love, compassion and understanding. Every time our spirit is stretched beyond normal bounds, and we bounce back, we are even stronger, more confident, more loving, and more certain of ourselves.
Through surviving much adversity, we also come to understand that because of this resilience, what we are made of is not meant to be broken. If anything this resilience allows to stretch even further, reach even higher, and accomplish even more.
Open-Minded Curiosity Is The Key To A Happy, Healthy Life
A client asked the other day how I keep my immunity up during these challenging times, and if there is anything special one can do to stay mentally healthy. My answer was simple. You simply need to keep an open mind, and have passion for life.
Working with spirit has taught me over the years to live my life wholeheartedly, with daily gratitude, and with an open mind and a healthy curiosity. I am always eager to learn and experience new things. We are not meant to be constantly stuck in a rut, nor spend our lives in mediocre stagnation.
Just the other day, a friend told me that she thought I am the most imaginative and adventurous person she has ever met. I am always so optimistic and upbeat, she said, and she gets energy from me just by spending time with me.
She has also witnessed how positive things happen in my life through my spiritual practices. For example, I use certain crystals, visualizations and affirmations to bring about real change in my life – not only for myself, but also for others.
The more we are open-minded to explore new horizons, and learn new things, the more we allow positive, creative new energies to enter our reality, empowering us to achieve things that we otherwise wouldn’t – especially when we just sit around doing nothing.
How To Manifest What You Really Want
I have, for at least 40 years now, been a deliberate creator, and passionate practitioner of the Law of Attraction. Nevertheless, when I first started working with this fantastic cosmic law, I noticed that I often manifested almost the exact opposite of what I was hoping for!
How could this be, I asked myself? After all, I had read all the books, did the meditations and vision boards, was thinking positively, and even bought the incense. Why wasn’t I getting what I wanted?
The answer came to me in time. It was because I was inadvertently counter-manifesting. This can happen so easily when we attempt to manifest – particularly in one’s early days of learning the art of cosmic ordering.
Okay, so how does one manage to counter-manifest and, more importantly, how do you avoid it?
Align Your Energy
First and foremost, if our energy vibration does not match what we are wanting to attract, we simply cannot draw it towards us. Like attracts like, remember? No amount of visualization or list-making is going to make any difference if we are not in a positive, open state of mind and elevated mood. We have to be ready to welcome whatever it is we have set an intention for.
Therefore, the first golden rule of successful manifestation is to raise your energy vibration with some healthy self-work and personal investment. By doing so, you will begin to attract more good things into your life, rather than drawing those things that you do not want.
No More Procrastination
Do you also procrastinate? Procrastination is the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished by a certain deadline. Or do you sometimes intentionally delay the completion of a task, despite knowing it might have negative consequences? Ninety five percent of people procrastinate at some point in life.
To break the habit of procrastination we must find some self-compassion when a task at hand causes us stress just thinking about tackling it. Some tasks just seem too big or overwhelming, and we can’t seem to motivate ourselves to get it done.
Procrastination makes most people feel guilt and shame. For some extreme procrastinators, negative feelings may trigger another reason not to complete a task. Only to become a vicious cycle of self-defeat. Most procrastinators tend to put off endings, as well as beginnings and commitments.
I have a close friend that has all kinds of ideas for a book she is writing. While collecting material, she put of starting the actual writing for three years. She felt she needed several points of view about the subject matter. She always needed one more.
Now, 13 years later, she can’t seem to stop writing the same book. The idea of being an author just feels so good to her now. The added benefit of this is that whenever she is asked what she has been up to, she loves to say, “I’m writing a book.”.
Are We There Yet?
Are we there yet? It’s okay to ask. The answer, however, should always be no. If we become preoccupied with destination, we lose sight of the joy and purpose of the journey in the first place. When we honor the journey, we are able to keep on the path of forward motion.
Life itself is the journey. We learn the hard lessons, and finally understand that it’s a never-ending process. Often things occur in the guise of mistakes, failures, misunderstandings, hurts. But in truth, not learning from these events is the only failure. And if you don’t learn it the first time, it is highly likely the lesson will repeat itself, over and over again, until you actually do learn it.
When our behavior and actions change, we convert what we have learned into wisdom. For some people the process is a lifelong quest, while others utilize what they have learned and it moves them along quickly. Some people need to go deeper within themselves to make progress.
It is always good to ask if we are there yet. Especially at the beginning of every journey, or when the learned lessons tell us there is more work to be done – inner work to get to the very core of our being. For some people inner work can be very frightening, as many of us deeply suppress the things that we don’t want to deal with. But to complete the journey we must peel away the layers, like peeling an onion.