life path
Embracing The Shadow
When I first began to intentionally and consciously walk a spiritual path, I remember doing so because it just felt so right. Every step I took toward ‘enlightenment’ in this lifetime seemed to bring more brightness into my life, and so many more blessings.
In those early days I was really rolling! I was expecting this to be an easy ride – all joy and light and love. It was wonderful.
What I hadn’t expected was the inevitable emergence of my shadow through as a result of all my spiritual work. And it was not something I was going to be comfortable with – admitting I had places of darkness within me, unloved aspects of myself, disowned pieces of my soul which had been abandoned and in such pain.
Through a series of, what seemed like, unfortunate events, I was given opportunities to face my shadow side. Challenges in relationships with friends and loved ones arose. I couldn’t understand it at first, and felt very alone and misunderstood. I was shifting the blame for this onto the people around me, instead of going inward.
Going inward, into the light, was totally okay, but going inward into the darkness was terrifying. My ego-self raised every defense to keep me from going there. Eventually, I could avoid it no longer.
My life at this point had endured tremendous change in the course of only a few years- so much so, that the entire landscape of my existence and the people in it were now different. While many of the changes were positive, the magnitude of the differences between my ‘old life’ and my ‘new life’ forced me into robust self-reflection.
Where did I want to go with my life? What did I want to do? And who was I going to be? I must admit, these were heavy questions, and I absolutely felt the weight of them. In addition, I was healing from a personal loss, and that was taking more time than I wanted it to.
My ‘aha moment’ came when I was lamenting one day about my relationship with my partner. I had identified that I wanted a deeper level of connection, but felt that he was unwilling to meet me there.
Embracing The Mirages Of Life
Imagine yourself walking through a hot desert, whipped by the relentless winds, and scorched by what feels like an unforgiving sun. Suddenly, a crystal-clear spring emerges in the distance. But the closer you come to this beautiful fountain, the more you realize that its calm waters are evaporating into thin air.
Taken aback, you face the reality that what you envisioned was never real or true. It was nothing more than a mere mirage. This optical illusion created by warm air near the ground refracting the light from the sky has deceived weary travelers for thousands of years. Ancient poets even wrote verses that spoke of the delights and dangers of the mirage. Sacred texts reveal the mirage that gave hungry and thirsty pilgrims hope during long migrations or exodus.
As a spiritualist, I often receive calls from clients who have also been misled by mirages, only these mirages are not of the biblical deserts that prophets of old journeyed across. These are instead the ‘mirages of life.’ I often hear clients lament how everything appeared to line up so perfectly, but the outcome was an unexpected disappointment. My answer is always the same. There are times in life when on the surface everything seems to be falling into place, yet the desired outcome does not complete the story we had hoped to write.
I some cases, the seemingly ‘perfect partner’ stuck around for years without any proposal for marriage. In other instances, there was an awesome interview for the dream job that ultimately was offered to someone else. I could share countless examples of how expected outcomes are sometimes derailed in our world.
We have all encountered mirages in our life, as well as the disappointment and heartbreak that follow. But if you really take a step back and reflect on your past disappointments, you will soon note that Spirit always had a much better plan with your name on it. The love you thought you lost is often replaced with a better love you never imagined possible. The position you wanted more than anything was more appropriately aligned with someone else, and instead of misplacing your gifts and talents, the new job you ultimately found was much more fulfilling than you ever thought possible.
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 Virus That Brought A New Lease On Life
I have been asking spirit to help me better understand the deeper meaning of the COVID-19 virus emerging at this time in human history. This is how it has been explained to me.
The surfacing of the novel coronavirus is unfortunate, and in many ways tragic, but it also has value. It is teaching mankind many important spiritual and life lessons, including the value of slowing down, appreciating life, and loving each other more.
Modern society has been rapidly expanding and moving increasingly faster and faster since the 1918 influenza pandemic – the most severe pandemic in recent history. In our modern world we have grown accustomed to constantly rushing, and we seldom, if ever, take time to stop and smell the roses.
My spirit guides showed me that it is like a car driving over the speed limit all day, every day…until it burns out. We have been speeding through life. Rushing here, rushing there. No time to rest, no time to prepare healthy food, no quality time with our loved ones, no gratitude or appreciation for the blessings we receive, and also no respect for Mother Nature.
The Divine Creator decorated this place we call home with some pretty amazing scenery and life forms: oceans, mountains, forests, rivers, deserts, wild life and beautiful flora. Yet, we choose to speed by without noticing much of it.
Multi-Tasking Does Not Cultivate A Quality Life
I’m sure there has been a time in your life when you may have been too active on a hot summer, day without adequately hydrating, or juggling far too many tasks at once without taking a break. While you may have crossed the finish line, or pleased your boss by checking off all the tasks you completed, your sense of well-being was probably rock bottom, and your nerves frazzled. You possibly also questioned whether or not the best version of yourself showed up for life the next day.
Although many of us have found ways to multi-task our hectic lives, research is increasingly showing that effective multi-tasking is in fact a myth. Working on multiple projects at once doesn’t necessarily make us high achievers, or a successful super humans. Multitasking for most individuals merely replaces quality with quantity, and often leaves us feeling overwhelmed and disconnected from our deeper purpose.
As a spiritualist, I make it a practice not to judge how others achieve their everyday objectives and goals. But I do counsel many people who seem to have traded quantity for quality in their lives, and are missing out on the gift of savoring the sweet taste of personal achievement that is purposely focused and uninterrupted.
While old habits are tough to break, each of us has the innate capacity to build new processes within our mind. Psychological tools, such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) for example, can be used to re-program the mind to think differently.
Metaphysics and New Thought spirituality also teaches that through positive thinking we can manifest healthier outcomes in all areas of our lives. Many indigenous peoples also have a long tradition of spiritual practices, such as vision quests, dream interpretation, divination, and rituals and ceremonies, to help seekers find their best path.